Teenage Dream
by letsmakeitworthit
Summary: Totally AU, Johanna isn't dead, I liked the idea of her being kidnapped instead, so she's been kidnapped, Kate is still a homicide detective and most things are the same as normal, but she has a teenage daughter. Post always, there will be some angst for a while, promise to make it better. My summarise suck by the way, give it a try.
1. Chapter 1

**I know I've been neglecting my other stories, but this idea just came to me, so I hope you like it. Enjoy.**

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"Damn it Jo, you better get out here right now!" Kate shouted to her daughter. How long does it take to get ready? She was getting worse the older she got, hitting her teens only made her worse. "We're going to be late!"

"Geez, I'm here, and ready. Calm down mum." Jo replied as she stepped out of her bedroom, her hair and make-up done flawlessly, and her purple evening dress flowing to the floor.

"Sweetie, you look amazing" Kate commented, her hand coming to rest on her daughters shoulder.

"Thanks mum. You look amazing too, as always" Jo commented as she stepped back to take in her mums' full evening wear. Her black dress hugged her curves perfectly, falling to the floor, barely covering the four inch black stilettos, the bandeau dress covering her modestly at her front, only for her to turn around to grab her clutch, exposing her bare back, the dress resting above the curve of her bum, before flowing to the floor creating a small train behind her.

"You ready?" Kate quizzed her daughter one final time.

"Yes mum, I'm ready. Are you nervous?" Jo questioned, noticing how edgy her mum was.

"No, it's just a book party I'm expected to be there, not like it's..." Kate started before her daughter cut in.

"...a date?" Jo interjected

"Exactly" Kate answered, "Wait, what? No, why would you even think I would want a date with Castle?"

"Okay, you don't want to date Rick. Even though it's so obvious that he loves you and you love him. Makes complete sense mum" Jo shot back, she'd just wish her mum would come to her senses, she actually liked Rick, he wasn't like Will or Josh. She just didn't understand her mums opposition to dating him.

"Jo, we are not talking about this. We are going to the book party and then we are coming home like normal. And I don't want you asking about Castle and me again." Kate told her daughter. "Now come on, we're going to be late and we've still got to pick Lanie up on the way."

"Lanie will listen to me" Jo muttered to herself a she walked out of the apartment and waited for her mum to lock up.

"What was that?" Kate questioned as they headed towards the elevator.

"Just excited is all" Jo shot back, leaning against the elevator wall as the doors closed.

Lanie was ready and waiting like always, her blue off the shoulder dress hugging her curves, and falling gracefully to the floor as she stood outside her building.

"Girl, where have you been?" Lanie shouted once Kate had pulled up next to her.

"Jo here likes spending an hour getting her make-up done." Kate gestured her daughter sitting in the backseat, "Come on, we're already running late"

Lanie ran around the car, jumping into the passenger seat next to her friend, "Girl, your nervous."

"No, Lanie, I'm not" Kate shot back, "Why do people think I'm nervous?"

"Maybe because you are, I would be if I were you" Lanie interjected

"Great way to calm my so called nerves" Kate shot back as she pulled into the waiting traffic. "We are so going to be late."

"She's nervous" Jo whispered to Lanie

"Totally" Lanie replied

"I can hear you, you know that right?" Kate told them as she weaved out of the traffic to pull up outside the venue.

"We know" Lanie and Jo replied in unison. Something they had mastered over the years.

"Seriously, ganging up on me?" Kate asked the pair as they pulled to a stop.

"Of course" Lanie told her before stepping out of the car.

"Mum, just relax, it'll be fun." Jo told her before exiting the car to stand with Lanie.

"Sure. He's going to have a girl on each arm, so much fun" Kate muttered to herself before stepping out the car to join her daughter and friend.

Rick had allowed them to enter through the back, he knew how much Kate hated the publicity created by Nikki Heat, and she wanted to keep her daughter out of it as much as possible. So he stood, watching the trio climb out of the car and head towards him, his eyes glued to Kate, "Is she trying to kill me?" he muttered as he saw her step out of the car, the dress covering her curves perfectly, then turning to lock the car exposing her pale back, god he just wanted to touch her, they weren't going to be able to do this, he definitely wasn't going to be able to do this.

"Kate" Rick gasped as she walked towards him "Hi"

"Hi" Kate replied as she stopped in front of him, her arms glued to her sides, she wanted to reach out and touch him, damn it, why wasn't this night over, things will be so much easier.

"Ready?" Rick questioned

"Ready as I'll ever be" Kate shot back, her eyes never leaving Rick's as she spoke, forgetting all about Lanie and Jo currently stood watching the exchange.

"Where's Alexis?" Jo asked, interrupting the silent conversation her mum an Rick seemed got be having.

"She's waiting inside, excited to see you as always" Rick told her

"Can I?" Jo looked up at her mum, her eyes widening as she asked

"Of course, if Lanie goes with you that is" Kate shot back, "I need to talk to Castle about something first."

"Lanie?" Jo asked, her eyes fluttering as she asked

"Come on kiddo, let's go, I want to talk to my apprentice anyway." Lanie shot back "Don't take forever you too."

"Lanie" Kate warned her

"Okay girl, I'll see you in there" Lanie told her, before dragging Jo into the building.

Kate watched her daughter and friend enter the building before turning back to Rick, her eyes sparkling, bottom lip pulled between her teeth.

"Don't do that" Rick moaned

"Do what Rick?" Kate purred back, before pulling her bottom lip between her teeth again.

"I swear to god Kate, do you want it to happen this way?" Rick growled back as he saw her eyes flit to his lips.

"Argh. Why did we decide to do this? It's killing me. Jo knows something is up, and she should know before anyone else, same with Alexis, we can't do this to them Rick" Kate told him, stepping closer to him, her arms crossed over her body.

"I know, it's a bit late now though, unless we get them before." Rick told her, with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you get Alexis and I'll get Jo and we will meet backstage?" Kate told him before heading into the building.

"Kate!" Rick shouted after her.

"Rick, what is it?" Kate stopped, spinning on her spot to face him

"Follow me first" Rick told her, almost reaching out for her hand.

"Rick, we can't, we don't have time" Kate shot back

"Geez Kate, no, not that, just come with me for a minute" Rick breathed against her ear.

She followed him through the building, staying as close to his back as she could. He could feel her behind him, made it all that much harder to control himself. He stopped at a door she knew it was the backstage door, the room they were going to bring Alexis and Jo to, so she had no idea why they were even stood here.

"Rick. I knew where the room was. You didn't need to show me." Kate says as he opens the door before grabbing her wrist and pulling her in after him. "Rick"

He didn't say anything, just claimed her mouth with his, pushing the door closed as he pressed her up against it, eliciting a moan from that delicious mouth of hers. She wasn't reacting at first, but soon enough her lips were moving in sync with his, her hands found their home in his hair while his splayed across her back and neck. He pushed into her, her back arching, gasping at the contact. His tongue traced the lines of her lips before she opened for him, her tongue finding his instantly. She released her grip on his hair to place a hand on his back, pushing him closer to her. She moaned into his mouth again, causing him to squeeze his hands tighter at her waist, returning the moan as she dug her nails into his back, her other hand moving from his hair to his cheek, her mouth becoming less frantic and more intimate. She placed one last kiss to his lips before pushing back slightly to look at him.

"God I've missed you" Rick breathed against her

"Not long to wait, now, we need to find Jo and Alexis" Kate breathed back, pushing lightly on his chest, creating a gap between them, allowing her to straighten her dress.

"You leave first" Rick breathed in her ear, his hands on her waist

"If you keep touching me, we won't be leaving this room Rick" Kate moaned as she turned to kiss him before freeing herself from his grip and exiting the room.

"Jo!" Kate shouted as she spotted the girls talking near the stage

"Mum, where have you been?" Jo asked, looking at her mum suspiciously.

"Just the restroom, can I talk to you a minute sweetie?" Kate asked her, her hand resting on her daughters shoulder.

"Sure, Alexis you okay?" Jo asks

"Yeah, just spotted my dad anyway" Alexis replies, turning to see her father talking to Lanie.

"Mum? What's wrong?" Jo asked as they walked out of the room.

"Just wait a couple minutes okay, I promise its nothing bad sweetie" Kate reassured her daughter as she led her out of the room.

"Hey dad, you okay?" Alexis asked once she'd caught up to her dad who was still talking to Lanie

"Yeah, erm, would you excuse us Lanie? Need to talk to Alexis for a minute" Rick addressed his daughter and friend.

"Sure Castle, I'll see you after your big speech" Lanie shot back, running off to find Ryan or Esposito in the sea of people.

"Dad what's wrong? You and Kate are being weird" Alexis asked, following her father through the crowd and to the backstage door.

"Kate? Jo?" Alexis quizzed as she entered the backstage room with her father who closed the door behind them.

"Mum? What's going on?" Jo quizzed, standing beside Alexis, arms crossed identical to the older teenager

"Rick? You want to start?" Kate offered, "You are the writer of course"

"Of course, where shall I start?" Rick questioned, stepping up next to Kate, placing an arm around her waist, tugging her towards him, a smile spreading across his face as he looked towards Kate, her face matching his.

"Oh My God!" Alexis and Jo exclaimed at the same time, before rushing towards their parents and crushing them in a group hug.

"Really?" Jo asked, her eyes wide and sparkling

"Really sweetie" Kate shot back, one arm around her daughter, with the other secured behind Ricks back.

"I knew it, Lex you owe me 10 bucks" Jo smirked at her as she stepped away from her mum and Rick.

"Damn it. One more day" Alexis whined as she looked at Jo then back to the couple.

"Seriously? You guys were betting on us? Not only the entire precinct, but our own kids, that's just great" Kate moaned as she looked between Rick and the girls.

"Right, where were you going to start again Dad?" Alexis asked, her arms now folded across her chest.

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**Let me know what you think, I have three other chapters written already, but I'm not sure I like them, so tell me where you think I should go with this.**

**Amy**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the interest in this story, I hope you like the next instalment. More to come.**

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_"Right, where were you going to start again Dad?" Alexis asked, her arms now folded across her chest._

"Once upon a time there was this beautiful Detective..."

"Be serious Dad" Alexis cut in.

"Fine, you're all boring" Rick moaned before continuing. "So you remember your graduation right? Well Jo here had a sleepover so we decided a movie night would be a good idea..."

_Why did it feel so weird? They'd done movie nights before, they'd had plenty on their own also, but for some reason tonight just felt different, he was more nervous than he'd ever been about spending time alone with her but he couldn't understand why. He'd cleaned the house twice over while he waited for her, Alexis had left straight after her graduation meal with him and her grandmother, and his mother had headed off to the Hampton's straight after. So he'd tried to write, which clearly didn't work since he couldn't stop worrying. And he knew she'd be too occupied with work to even be worrying like he was which only made it worse._

_How unbelievably wrong he was, her not worrying about a night alone with him when she was ready, oh she was so ready. But she couldn't be sure he was, it had been almost a year, and she wasn't even sure he felt the same way. Why were they so complicated, the flirting was more frequent, and so were the touches, but what did it all mean? God she was frustrated and all this stupid paperwork wasn't helping. No case all week, it would just be her luck that they got a case before she could clock off for the weekend tonight. She was on edge, and it was only going to get worse, she was getting weird looks from the boys, and she knew how it she must look. Why wasn't it 5 o'clock yet?_

_By the time she'd got to Rick's apartment after dropping Jo off at her sleepover and heading home to change it was 7 o'clock and she was starving to say the least. She was even nervous when she knocked on his door. God he made her feel like a teenager. She was not going to survive this night. But as usual, Rick answered the door with a huge smile on his face looking completely comfortable. That only made it worse, he looked calm and collected, he clearly didn't feel anything for her otherwise he'd be more worried._

_"Kate?" Rick questioned, had he been talking this whole time?_

_"Sorry" Kate replied as she saw Rick step out of the way._

_"Are you coming in?" Rick quizzed, his eyebrow raised and his face covered in slight concern._

_"Yeah, sorry, just a little dazed" Kate shot back shaking her head and following him into his loft._

_"Okay. Foods almost ready just got to set the table, so if you want to get a drink and sit down ready." He spoke as he closed the door and headed towards the kitchen._

_"I'll set the table, get it faster that way right?" Kate smirked as she hung her coat up and kicked her shoes off._

_"But you're a guest" Rick moaned as she entered the kitchen_

_"Come on Rick, I've been here plenty of times, I know where everything is just let me do it" Kate replied as she easily found the draw with the mats and coasters._

_"Clearly got no choice" He shot back as he continued to check the food._

_They ate in silence, neither daring to say anything, not wanting to cause a huge argument while eating was stopping the pair. They had danced around this topic for so long, both knowing they were at fault. Their timing really did suck._

_"Are you sure you're okay? You seem distracted."_

_"Rick, I'm fine. Can we just eat please?"_

_"Kate. Why do you do this?"_

_"Do what Rick?"_

_"Shut yourself off to me. What do I need to do to get you to trust me?"_

_"You know what Castle? I'm just going to go. This was a stupid idea anyway. I thought we could talk, but I just wanted a nice dinner first. But never mind. I'll see you tomorrow"_

_Kate was up and out of her seat within seconds, heading for the door leaving a stunned Rick staring after her from his kitchen table. She didn't even bother putting her shoes on, simply headed straight for her jacket in the closet then grabbed her shoes to head out the door._

_"Kate! Wait." Rick shouted as he shook himself out of the daze and jumped out of his seat after her._

_"Why? Give me one good reason why I should Rick? Because for the past four years all I've done is wait!" Kate shouted as she spun on her heels to face him._

_"You've been waiting? What have I been doing for the past four years while you walked around with other men? Do you think that I was okay with that? That it didn't bother me that they got to go home and spend time with you and Jo while I went home on my own?" Rick shouted back. He couldn't believe her. It wasn't all about her._

_"Yeah 'cause you seemed so lonely leaving for the Hampton's with your ex wife. How could I miss the lonely look on your face"_

_"What does that have to do with anything? You were with Demming, that wasn't my fault."_

_"No, I wasn't with Demming I broke up with him for you."_

_"What?"_

_"I broke up with him. I didn't want him, I wanted you. And I was going to tell you, at your leaving party, then your ex wife showed up and when Alexis came in she looked happy about the fact that it was the three of you and not the four of us. So that wasn't entirely my fault"_

_"You wanted me?"_

_"No. I want you"  
_

_He didn't need to say anything else, he simply took a step closer, placing his hands on either side of her face and pulling her in for a searing kiss. She didn't even hesitate to drop her shoes and jacket before locking her arms around his neck, her hand finding their place in his hair. They broke apart too soon for either of their likings, but they knew they still needed to talk._

_"God I want you too Kate. You have no idea."_

_"I'm pretty sure I do Rick, because I want you just as much. But we still need to talk"_

_"What about?"_

_"Josh"_

_"No! Sorry but that's not going to happen."_

_"Why not? He didn't do anything wrong"_

_"Nothing wrong, seriously?"_

_"He saved my life Rick"_

_"No, he didn't, I did. I was the one over you the entire way to the hospital, stopping the bleeding. I was the one they had to pull off the gurney so they could get you into surgery. And the moment he gets kicked out because your his girlfriend, he comes to pick a fight, to tell me it was my fault, pushing me against the wall in front of you daughter. Yet he was the first person you wanted to see when you woke up. You have no idea what it was like while you were out. I mean I shouldn't have been surprised that you wanted to see him first. I mean he was your boyfriend. But I thought I was high up on the list too. After your dad and Jo, clearly he meant more to you than you ever let on."_

_"Damn it Rick, I know what he did. You think my dad wouldn't tell me? That Jo wouldn't tell me? That's why I saw him before you, because I broke up with him for what he did and said to you."_

_"Why didn't you tell me?"_

_"Maybe because I'd just been shot, and the last thing I wanted to talk about with you was my ex boyfriend. You made me forget that I'd been shot, made me laugh and smile while I was laid in that stupid hospital bed unable to do anything."_

_"Those three months when you were with your dad were horrible for me. Jo kept telling Alexis that you were okay. That you just needed time. How was I supposed to know you weren't with him? That he got to look after you while you pushed me away? The thought of him helping you after the way he acted made me sick, I just wanted to help you Kate. You wouldn't even let me see you."_

_"I needed time Rick, I was a mess, I was barely keeping it together, and what shell of a woman I had become I needed to make myself better to look after my daughter. I thought about you all the time, but I knew that if I let you in, if I let you look after me, I wouldn't be able to stand on my own, I needed to stand on my own, reassure myself that getting shot wasn't the end."_

_"I just wanted to know that you were okay, to talk to you every once in a while. I didn't need to be with you, just to know that you were doing okay. No matter how often Jo told Alexis I needed to hear it from you."_

_"I couldn't face you. I didn't want you to see me like that. You have no idea how much of a mess I was. I was weak, I looked horrible. I didn't want to inflict that image or more people than necessary."_

_"I didn't care what you looked like I loved you for you not for how you look. I just wanted to be there to help the woman I loved." _

_He didn't even know he had said it, it just came out. He was so angry, is that all she thought this was, a physical attraction. Didn't she believe it was anything more?_

_"Loved?" Kate's voice shook as she spoke, her mind on overdrive. Didn't he love her anymore? She had waited too long._

_"Yes. I loved you when I left with Gina for the Hampton's, and I've loved you ever since. I can't stop loving you. And now I'm stupid because I just shouted it out to you in the middle of an argument and that was so not the way I wanted to..."_

_She cut him off by once again melding her mouth with his. He was rambling and about I take back his declaration and she wasn't letting that happen any time soon. She pushed herself away from him, her hands on either side of his face as she locked eyes with him, preparing herself to speak._

_"You don't get to pick a moment for that sort of thing, it just happens. I love it when you get all flustered and try to cover up what you said, but you don't get to do that now, you don't get to take it back, because if you do, I wouldn't be able to tell you how much I love you."_

_"Never, ever take it back. God I love you. Why do we make things so damn difficult?"_

_"I don't care anymore. I just want to love you. I've been so stupid and wasted so much time."_

_"Shh. We've wasted time. Not just you. We've both been stupid. But that ends now. No more waiting."_

_"No more waiting. I think the foods cold now"_

_"I'm a different kind of hungry now"_

"...well dot dot dot. That's all you're getting from that." Rick concluded as he recalled the night's events.

"Ew Dad. Did you have to?" Alexis moaned

"Have to what?" Rick quizzed, a smirk forming on his face.

"Do the whole dot dot dot thing?" Alexis shot back

"Why? What's wrong with that?" Rick urged

"One, you quoted the Mama Mia film. Two, we've seen it, so we know what dot dot dot means. You couldn't have just ended it at 'no more waiting.' Rather than the whole 'I'm a different kind of hungry' seriously? Ew guys"

"Not my smartest move"

"You think" Kate interjected, searching her daughters face. She hadn't said a word. She was starting to worry. "Jo, sweetie, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just remembering last summer." Jo replied

"Oh sweetie, come here" Kate gestured to her daughter who ran into her arms before circling her own around her. "It's okay, we're gonna be okay."

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**I've got up the fifth chapter written, and I'm working on the fifth now, so I'm hoping to make it better the more I reread some of the chapters I've already written. Enjoy and please R&R**

**Amy**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry for the delay with this story, work has been hectic since my exams finished, but I'm free for two weeks, so hopefully be able to update this story a bit more, if not at least some of my other stories may get updated also.**

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_"Oh sweetie, come here" Kate gestured to her daughter who ran into her arms before circling her own around her. "It's okay, we're gonna be okay."_I

"How about you girls go clean up, and I'll see you out there." Rick told them as he swiped a finger under Jo's eye to clear the tear.

"Come on" Kate ushered the girls out of the room before turning back towards Rick and whispering "I see any blondes on your arm tonight when you walk in, nothing, I repeat nothing for a month, maybe longer."

"Yeah, 'cause you could do that" Rick muttered as she left the room, receiving a glare as she spun around hearing his comment.

The girls head towards the bathroom to check their make-up, the tears had caused Kate's eye make-up to smudge slightly and with the events of tonight she is going to need to look perfect, not that Kate Beckett was a vain woman, but she felt she needed to prove something tonight, in front of all those people. And boy was she nervous.

"Kate? Are you okay?" Alexis questioned as they entered the toilets, she watched as Kate checked that the toilets were empty and that they were alone before answering her.

"Just nervous I guess. I mean your dad didn't tell me what kind of entrance he was doing this year, I know he usually has a woman on each arm, and well then were telling everyone about us tonight and well...I'm being stupid, ignore me." Kate rambled as she watched her daughter and Alexis stare back at her, mouths open. "What?"

"You're telling everyone tonight?" Alexis quizzed her eyes wide as she stares at Kate

"Did we not mention that before?" Kate returns, getting even more nervous

"No!" Both girls exclaim as they stare back at her, before entering a toilet each

"Oh, come on. What's wrong? We told you first." Kate shot back

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry, the extra hour of us knowing before everyone else makes it so much better mum" Jo shouted through the toilet door

"Is that all? You're upset because you didn't know before this?" Kate shot back as she stood in front of the mirror reapplying her make-up

"What do you mean is that all? We're your kids, we should have known about it from the start. Not three months down the line." Alexis shouted as she swung the door open, "Jo, you coming?"

"Yeah, might as well go talk to someone who isn't keeping secrets from us. You gonna tell us you're engaged already?" Jo exclaimed as she exited the cubicle and walked towards her mother, who had a stunned look on her face. "Please tell me your not? Come on. You can't be serious?"

"No were not engaged, you think we'd do that to you? We only kept this a secret because we knew how everyone would react, and we needed to establish our status back at the precinct, we didn't need to give Gates a reason to kick your dad out. And we thought it would be easier to not tell anyone rather than a select few, which is why Gates is here tonight" Kate told them as they stood before her, arms folded across their chests, "We didn't do this on purpose girls, you know we love you, which is why we told you before we told everyone else, we knew it would be worse if you found out the same time as the rest of the party."

"Fine, but it's time to start the party, so we have to go and find Grams and Jim" Alexis told her as she grabbed Jo's hand and pulled her out of the toilets and headed back to the ballroom.

Kate stood there, still shocked, they seemed okay with everything at first, why were they so upset, it wasn't like her and Rick had seen much of each other in the past couple of months, in fact, they'd hardly seen each other, and it was killing them. They had one night that overlapped into the late morning before they had to separate and she'd had to pick Jo up from her sleepover. They'd had the occasional night, with Alexis being away on her summer programme and Jo being at sleepovers or her Granddads. But they were always cut short, never allowing them to just lie in bed together all day, and since they'd started back at the precinct it had only got worse, they only ever saw each other at work, it had been a month since they'd been together and the frustration was evident in both of them.

"Girl, there you are" Kate was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Lanie's voice, before being dragged out of the toilets "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, must have zoned out" Kate shot back "Where's Jo gone?"

"She and Alexis are stood with your dad and Martha, they don't look happy, what did you need them for?" Lanie quizzed

"Not sure what Rick needed Alexis for, but I wanted to make sure Jo was okay, with this being the first launch party she's been too" Kate lied as she walked ahead of her friend

"Well, I've heard that Rick is supposed to make his big entrance any minute" Lanie mocked as she spotted the boys stood with Jim and Martha "And apparently Jo and Alexis have disappeared"

"What?" Kate exclaimed as she looked up to see her dad and Martha smiling back at her "Great"

"What is wrong with you today girl? You're so tense, you either need to move on that fine writer-boy that's waiting for you, or you need to find someone else, 'cause girl, you need to get laid" Lanie told her as they approached the group

"Lanie!" Kate scolded hoping her dad hadn't heard

"Sorry" Lanie muttered as she looked between her friend and her father.

"Katie, where have you been?" Jim quizzed his daughter as he moved to hug her

"Hi dad" Kate replied, returning the hug, "Just needed to sort my hair out, wasn't working for me"

"Since when have you ever been bothered about how you look Katie? You sure you're okay?" Jim asked, placing a hand on his daughters arm

"Dad, I'm fine, trust me. Where did Jo and Alexis go? Lanie said they were stood here before I came out." She asked the group, still searching the room for the two teens

"Not sure, they just said they both needed to go somewhere then left." Gates told her, stepping back into the conversation

"Sir didn't know you were coming tonight" Kate addressed her as she stepped out of her father's grasp

"Yes, Mr Castle invited me, said that I wouldn't want to miss his speech" Gates admitted "Thought why not, night off, open bar, John seems happy to have a night out."

"I see. Where is Castle by the way? He not entered with his usual blondes?" Javier asked Kate assuming that she'd know

"Last time I saw him he was letting us in through the back, didn't want to get Jo caught up in too much" Kate shot back

She didn't get chance to say anything else before the doors swung open to reveal Rick walking into the ballroom with two young women, one on either arm, but they weren't blonde, they were brunette and red-haired. He'd walked in with their daughters, she just wanted to grab him right now and kiss him. Did he have to be so damn adorable? Jo didn't seem uncomfortable; in fact, she had a huge smile on her face and was looking towards her mum with a knowing look. This could have been her, she could have walked through those doors with him had they told everyone before the party.

"Thought you wanted to keep Jo out of it?" Kevin quizzed as he stood next to Kate who was still smiling as he talked to her

"Clearly made her own decision" Kate told the group as she continued to look at the trio walking towards them

The crowd didn't shout and hoot as much as they used to, they were slightly confused by the two young teens on Richard Castle's arm, too confused to notice that his eyes focused on one woman only, and that the smile on his face was for her and her only. His gaze finally shifted as he past her, walking towards the stage, where he placed a kiss on the teen's cheeks before stepping up the stairs and onto the stage where Gina waited patiently, she stepped forward, enveloping him in a hug as she placed a kiss to his lips, before turning back to the crowd.

Kate stiffened next to her father as she saw Gina place a kiss to Rick's lips, bringing back the memories of the summer she watched him walk away with her. She felt her father's arm snake around her and pull her to him as they watched the exchange on stage.

"Why don't you just tell him Katie?"

"Dad, don't, not tonight, please"

"Fine, but you deserve to be happy, and he clearly makes you happy"

"Your Dad's right Kate, you're a good detective, but you don't express your feelings" Roy inputted as he joined the conversation

"Didn't know you were going to be here Roy"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world" Roy responded, his smile widening.

Kate turned her attention back to the stage where she could see Rick staring back at her, his eyes wide as he took in her expression. He flicked his eyes between her and Gina, his mouth open as he notices the sad expression crossing her face. He just wanted to kiss it all away, reassure her that he only wants her and no-one else.

"Richard Castle would like to say a few words to his fans. So let me hand over to him before we get this party underway" Gina spoke, gritting her teeth, Rick didn't make many big speeches at his book launches, but he'd insisted, and being Gina, she was desperate to know why.

"Hello everyone, I know I'm not one for postponing the party with a speech, but I have some important news I'd like to share with you all, but first of all, we have the pleasure of having the real Nikki Heat in our presence tonight, after four years of following her, she's decided to come to one of my launches, so big round of applause please to get her on stage"

Kate looked towards her father who quickly removed his arm from around her, she didn't want to seem like she knew what was happening, so she used her poker face and rolled her eyes as she took off towards the stage. She could feel them watching her, only making her more nervous, she could stare murderers in the eye and not blink, but give her a room full of crazed Castle fans, along with her friends and family, when they were about to announce their relationship, yeah, she wanted to run so much. But seeing the hand in front of her reassured her that she wasn't alone. She grabbed his hand as he helped her onto the stage, their eyes meeting as she chanced a glance before reluctantly letting go and stepping towards the centre of the stage.

"So now that little announcement is over, I have one more very important announcement to make, and well, to most of you I'm sure it will be a shock, some of you will jump with joy, and others may well want to kill me."

"We'd save you bro" Javier shouted from the audience causing a round of laughter to erupt in the room.

"Thanks Javier, I'm sure I will need your help from the wrath I'm about to receive, but it was worth it, every minute, no matter how hard it's been, I wouldn't change the way we did it, or the way in which I'm doing this now. We needed the time to figure things out we needed to establish ourselves as one, rather than two individuals, which by the way is not easy when you have a teenage daughter. But most of all we needed to prove ourselves, to prove that nothing would change." Ricks eyes were now fixed on Kate's she couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face as she watched him explain their situation without giving them away. "We've only told two other people about this change, and recently might I add, as in about two hours ago, but we felt they deserved to know before everyone else."

"Rick! What are you talking about? Are you hiding something from me?" Gina's voice sounded from his right as she stepped towards him and Kate, not noticing the closeness of the two. "I apologise, Richard Castle seems to have some wild theories running around his head at the moment. Who are you talking about Rick?"

"Me" Kate simply answered before Rick closed the distance and crashed his lips to hers, her hands instinctively going to his hair as he pressed her to him, holding her in place, his hand at the base of her bare back. The kiss was brief, but it did the trick, no more hiding, there was no going back. Their foreheads rested together, her hand cupping his jaw as he moved a strand of hair from her eyes.

"I love you"

"I love you"

The words were spoken in sync, causing the pair to wear matching smiles on their faces as they shared another brief kiss before turning towards the now silent crowd. Ricks arm was firmly placed around Kate's back, pulling her to him, securing her to his side as they waited for someone, anyone to talk.

"DETECTIVE BECKETT, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Gates' voice echoed through the ballroom

"Shit" Kate muttered under breath to Rick as they saw their Captain walk towards the stage, her eyes fixed on the couple

"RICHARD CASTLE! THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU KEEP FROM YOUR PUBLISHER!" Gina shouted as she approached the couple, boxing them in on the stage

"Sir, listen to me, how long would you have let Rick stay if you knew?" Kate quizzed as grabbed Rick's hand for comfort

"Gina will you calm down, your my publisher, not my agent, now if it were Paula stood shouting at me I would understand, but either way it wouldn't matter, because my personal life is frankly none of your business." Rick shot back

"He wouldn't have stayed its unprofessional, irresponsible and downright stupid. Relationships between colleagues aren't allowed in this job, lines get blurred, you can't assess situations accurately when there's a gun aimed at the others head." Gates gritted her teeth as she spoke to the pair "I didn't think you were serious when you told me there was something between these two Roy. But I can't allow it in my precinct."

"Rick, you're a bestselling novelist, of course we need to know this kind of thing, and do you want a swarm of press following you? Do you want your life invaded because you wanted to keep this little fling to yourself" Gina spat back

"Sir, are you kidding me? We didn't do anything against regulations, Castle isn't a paid member of the NYPD, therefore I'm not in a relationship with a colleague, just a consultant" Kate shot back, "And Gina, this isn't just a fling"

"Yet you still take him into gun battles with you, he has his own vest for crying out loud, he is in the line of fire, and your emotions will affect your judgement." Gates responded

"We will see about that, Rick doesn't do long term relationships" Gina muttered under her breathe as Kate fired back at her boss

"I've had these emotions for at least three years now, just never acted on them, so my judgement won't be clouded." Kate shot back

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**I will try to get the chapters I've already written posted this week. Hope you enjoy, it is very AU, Roy is still alive, something I will probably dwell on later. Please R&R**

**Amy**


	4. Chapter 4

**Apologise again. I promise I'm trying. Honestly.**

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"_I've had these _emotions_ for at least three years now, just never acted on them, so my judgement won't be clouded." Kate shot back_

"Don't you dare say that Kate is just a fling Gina, you have no idea what you're talking about, as Kate stated we've both had these emotions for around three years, so if this was just a fling we'd have got it over and done with a long time ago. Now I feel that you should leave."

"I KNEW IT!" Alexis exclaimed, causing all heads to turn to her. "Can I have my money back now Jo?"

"Argh! Thanks a lot guys." Jo shot back

"Are you kidding me? Will you two stop betting on us? You're our kids, you're supposed to be grossed out by the idea" Rick interjected

"Should have gotten your act together sooner" Jo told them.

"Johanna Beckett, don't talk to Rick like that!" Kate scolded her daughter

"Can we get back to the book launch Rick? Paula interrupted as she walked onto the stage

"Sure, done all of my announcements now, need a drink after all that." Rick replied, grabbing Kate's hand and pulling her towards the bar.

"That went well" Kate muttered as they left the stage, all eyes following them

"They're still staring right?" Rick whispered as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her flush to his side

"Yeah, I can feel their eyes on me, and trust me, Lanie's are burning a hole in my back" Kate whispered back

"She will be okay soon, don't worry too much, we will just have fun for the rest of the night." He placed a kiss to her ear as he whispered to her.

"Okay, I'm sure I will get grilled sometime tonight when you abandon me to sign a girl's chest." Kate murmured to herself as they reached the bar.

"Hey, look at me" Rick spoke softly, placing his finger under her chin and lifting her head up to his, "I'm only interested in you and your chest. Can I sign yours by the way?"

"Rick" Kate laughed as she playfully slapped his shoulder before being pulled into a searing kiss. "Okay, I believe you."

"Good, don't doubt that you are all I want ever again" He told her as they turned back to the bar to order their drinks.

The book launch went swimmingly after the little outburst of the announcements, Kate and Rick had managed to avoid their friends and family for the most of the night. Kate had yet to have the dreaded talk with Lanie, who she was avoiding at all costs. Knowing Lanie it would need to involve a lot of alcohol and no audience for the kind of information she wanted and the kind of ear bashing Kate was going to receive. They'd already decided that Kate and Jo were stopping at the loft that night, now Jim was also stopping, in the spare room that usually accommodated Kate.

"I'm a little nervous" Kate admitted as they walked towards their family

"The great Katherine Beckett is nervous? Why may I ask?" Rick mockingly replied

"Oh shut up Rick, and yes you may ask why, and I can't believe you're not nervous, the entire family, seriously? Do you know how weird that is going to be? How quiet we are going to have to be?" Kate whispered to him as they neared their family, causing Rick to halt their progress and stand in the middle of the room.

"Seriously, that's what you're worried about? Didn't I ever tell you all my rooms are sound proof?" Rick shot back, a huge grin on his face "But thank you for the reassurance that tonight I will once again get to ravish you."

"Or I could ravish you." She replied with a smirk as he pulled her towards him, placing a kiss to her forehead.

"GET A ROOM!"

"We have" they replied in unison, causing the entire room to look at them.

"Eew! Mum!"

"Dad! Gross"

Jo and Alexis returned at the same time, their parent's eyes finding theirs instantly as the blush increased on their faces.

The girls are silent when they sit in the car on the way home an hour later, like they are avoiding talking about sleeping arrangements for the night, knowing what the answer will be. Jim and Martha took Kate's car, since her father doesn't drink. They assured them that they were okay with not taking the limo; they wanted to give their kids some time with their own kids after recent developments.

"Are you not talking to us now?" Rick quizzed the girls as they sat at the opposite end of the limo.

"I'm sorry, what should we say?" Alexis shoots back, her eyes levelling on her father

"Alexis! What is wrong with you today?" Rick scolds as he stares at his daughter

"Being lied to does that to you" She replies instantly

"We didn't lie to you, we just didn't tell you"

"Because that makes it all better?" Jo interrupts

"Jo, do not start" Kate cuts in, wow the awkward conversation with their kids was going to be a long one "Do you girls have a problem with this? Because we would work something out. Probably won't be easy, but we would respect your wishes"

"Kate" Rick protests as she pauses

"No, Rick, we talked about this, we said if they weren't okay with us, then we'd stop" She shot back, her hand finding his and giving it a squeeze.

"They're okay with it, they were happy" Rick interjects as her strokes the back of her hand

"Clearly they aren't. Now, like I was saying, are you girls okay with this?"

"You'd seriously do that? You'd stay away from each other and forget about this thing you have for us?" Alexis enquires

"It won't be easy, but you girls are important to both of us, and we want you to be happy more than ourselves being happy. It's a parent thing" Rick told them, his eyes shooting up to lock with Kate's

"Okay, well," Alexis starts, pausing as she looks towards Jo who simply nods at her, "we're not okay with this"

The car pulls to a stop as Alexis finishes speaking, causing the girls to exit instantly leaving their parents behind, both with shocked expressions on their faces. The sound of the door clicking shut behind them causes Rick to break first, his shocked expression turning to sad as he moves his hand to stroke Kate's cheek, before resting it there.

"Did she just say 'not okay'?" She quizzed as she turned to look at him, her eyes filled with unshed tears as they lock with his again

"She did" He watches as the tears slowly find their way down her cheek, his thumb brushing over them, catching them. "Kate, I can't, I can't let you go"

"Rick, we talked about it, we said we could do it"

"Yeah but I never expected them to not be okay with this."

"Well now we know they're not, I, I guess I should get my dad to take me and Jo back to mine"

"What? No!" he shouts as she starts to turn away" Kate, just stay tonight, stay in my room, I'll sleep in the couch, give them some time to think about all of this first."

"Rick," she breathes in reply. "I can't stay here and not be with you. It's safer if we go home, let them think it over on their own, not with each other."

He doesn't give her a reply, just pulls her towards him, crashing his lips to hers, making it count, knowing it might be the last time he gets to do this with her. She responds instantly, returning the same level of passion and urgency as him, letting him know that she doesn't want this to end either. Her hands find his hair, as she gasps into his mouth, opening for him, his tongue sliding along hers instantly. He pulls her flush to him, one hand on her thigh the other at her neck, as he continues to stroke his tongue along hers before pulling back slightly to bite the bottom of her lip. She moans at the pain, the pain she may never get from him again, the kind she loves, the one that spurs her on, but now causes the tears in her eyes to roll down her cheeks again. They're uncontrollable, keep flowing down her face as they continue to kiss, she's not sure who's she tastes first, but they ignore them, both wanting to make their last kiss count. Rick pulls back first, looks at her tear streaked face before once again wiping them away with his thumb.

"I love you so much Kate, please, don't forget how much I love you"

"I know, god, I love you Rick, I don't think I could ever forget"

She moves her own hand to wipe at the tears on his face, both trying to compose themselves before they go and say goodbye in front of everyone.

"You okay?"

"No, but we knew this wouldn't be easy Rick, I need to be away from you for this to work, if not I'm going to be too tempted"

"Okay, let's go get your stuff into your car"

They transfer her things in silence, staying away from each other, avoiding any chance of contact.

"Jo's taken her bag already"

"She will still want to sleep over, despite the age difference, her and Alexis are really close. We can't stop seeing each other altogether, Jo can't lose someone else she's close to"

"I know, we will cross that bridge when we get to it Kate, come on."

They stand at opposite ends of the elevator, both looking towards the floor, resisting the urge to reach out and pull the other towards them. When the doors open he lets her out first, watching her as she walks in front of him before composing himself once again before they enter his loft. It seems too quiet when they get inside, they can't see anyone, they know the girls are here, and her car is parked outside, so their parents are here also.

"Jo, could you come downstairs please" She's surprised at how steady her voice is

"You're back" Jim states, a smile on his face which quickly falters at the sight of the pair "Katie?"

"Did you bring your things up already Dad?"

"Yes, there in the spare room why?"

"Go get them and make sure Jo brings hers down with her"

"Darlings, you're here. The girls came up almost an hour ago, dare we ask-" Martha stops abruptly when she sees her son and Kate, their standing apart from each other, too far apart, both with bloodshot eyes, both looking towards anything that isn't each other "Richard? What's going on?"

"Kate, Jim and Jo are leaving, stopping at her apartment tonight." He simply replies as he watches his mothers face turn to worry

"Richard? What did you do?"

"He didn't do anything Martha" Kate tells her, her eyes finding his as she looks up, before they both quickly turn their heads to look away

"Gramps why do I need my bag? And why do you have your bag? We're stopping here tonight?" Jo's voice echoes through the loft as she walks down the stairs, running after Jim who has both bags in his hands.

"Dad, what's going on?" Alexis' voice booms as she runs down the stairs behind Jo, stopping abruptly behind her when they reach the bottom, both looking towards their parents

"We're going home Jo" Kate states, her eyes on the ground once again

"I don't want to" Jo replies

"Well tough, you've gotten one wish tonight, and I'm sorry but that's all I can manage right now, so get your things, we're going" Kate almost shouts as she looks up at her daughter, the tears forming in her eyes again. "Now, Jo."

"Katie? Are you sure?" Jim asks his daughter while looking at his grandchild.

"Can we just go? Jo go to the car with your grandfather, I'll be down in a minute."

"But mum-"

"Jo" Kate scolds as she watches her daughter take one last look at Alexis then Martha before leaving the loft with her granddad.

They stand outside the loft, in the hallway waiting for Kate they needed to make sure she was okay

"Goodbye Rick"

"Goodbye Kate"

They lock eyes briefly, before Kate quickly turns away, her hand reaching up wipe a tear from her cheek, starts taking deep breathes as she exits the loft, closing the door behind her

"Mum?"

"Dad, I said the car" Kate tells them as she walks towards the elevator, not making eye contact with either of them, and pushing back the tears

"Katie, you're not okay" Jim states as yet enter the elevator with her

"I'll be fine, just give me some time" Kate states, her eyes once again focused on the floor

"Dad?" Alexis shouts after him as he makes his way towards his office, ignoring both his mother and daughter

"Richard! Your daughter is talking to you" Martha shouts after him as he enters his office, heading straight for his bedroom door.

"I'm not in the mood for talking, I'm going to bed" Rick states, his voice remaining calm, he closes his bedroom door behind him before sliding down the door and sitting on the floor, his head in his hands, the tears streaming down his face.

She keeps herself composed on the ride home, eyes glistening with unshed tears, forcing herself to hold it together until she's in the confides of her own bedroom.

"Katie where here" Jim states as he pops his head back inside the car, holding their backs

"Sorry" She exits the car quickly before running around and grabbing her bag from him "Thanks"

"Jo's already inside, she said she was tired and wanted to go to bed" Jim states as they walk towards the elevator

"Your room is already set up, I'm going straight to bed as well Dad, you know where everything is if you want to stay up" Kate replies before returning to the silence as they enter the elevator.

"Okay Katie" Jim answers before falling into the silence with her.

When they enter her apartment, they see Jo's bag thrown by the door, her shoes and coat thrown alongside them. Kate doesn't even falter to move them like normal, simply walks straight through the apartment to her room.

"Night Dad"

"Night Katie"

She closes the door behind her before sliding down to the floor, pulling her legs up to her chest, tears streaming down her face.

Neither bother to change as they crawl into bed, both facing the centre, hoping to see the other there beside them, knowing that it will never happen again. Kate doesn't even bother to climb under the covers, instead deciding to simply lie on top of them, while burying her head in the pillow. Rick manages to climb underneath before he also buries his face in the pillow. Neither one of them managing to sleep until the tears start again, memories of time spent together in the room, the bed they currently lie in, until they finally exhaust themselves enough, crying themselves to sleep.

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**I hope you like it, I'm a bit unsure about the course of this chapter.**

**Amy**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry again about the delay and leaving you guys with a cliff hanger. I hope this makes up for it. Working on the next chapter now, so should hopefully get that posted next week.**

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_Neither one of them managing to sleep until the tears start again, memories of time spent together in the room, the bed they currently lie in, until they finally exhaust themselves enough, crying themselves to sleep._

How had she been so stupid? How had she let herself become so attached to him without them asking their kids first? They should have done that before they started anything, because she just can't stand to be without him, she needs him, she wants him, and she loves him. God this wasn't going to work, she had to see him, had to be with him. They could hide if from their girls again, they could keep them out of this until they were old enough, until they weren't affected by the decisions they make. Her daughter would be up and out by now, her dad will probably have taken her, she should call him, she needed to hear his voice.

She climbed out of bed, passing her mirror and pausing as she realised she was still in last night's outfit. Pulling the dress off quickly she wipes the make-up off her face, what is left after all the crying, and throwing on her lounge pants and Ricks oversized t-shirt, the smell of him filling her nose as she stepped out of her bedroom into the empty apartment. The distinct smell of coffee from her kitchen makes her rush towards it, thinking someone will be there, but all she finds is a freshly brewed coffee placed over a note.

'Taken Jo to school, got to swing by the office this morning also, see you around 3.  
Love dad'

She runs back into her bedroom, searching for her phone as the realisation of an empty apartment hits her, she needs to see him, and Alexis and Martha are probably still at the loft, so her apartment it is. She finds it under the mess of her discarded bags, quickly checking her phone she sees that she hasn't had any calls, so speed dials Rick as she stalks back into the living room.

"Kate?" His voice is unsure as he answers the phone.

"God, it's so good to hear your voice" Kate replies, no need to acknowledge the fact that he was unsure she would ever call again

"We got a body?" He mindlessly asks

"No, day off for me today. I just, I can't do it, I need to see you, I need to be with you, and if we have to hide it from our kids I don't care, I can't lose you Rick" She breathes down the phone, holding back the flood of tears threading to burst once again

"Thank god. I can't do this either, I need you in my life as more than a partner, I need all of you. They won't like being lied to again." Rick informs her

"I don't care, we're the adults-well I am-and we shouldn't have to break up because our kids say so, Alexis is leaving for college, Jo's old enough to understand. I want to be happy, but if I'm not with you I'll never be happy." Kate confesses as the tears start to roll down her cheeks.

"Kate? Are you crying?" Rick asks, worry laced in his voice.

"Sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I just, I need you Rick" Kate confesses as the sobs echo over the phone.

"Please tell me you're not alone, that there's someone there for you"

"I'm alone, Jo's at school, dad has gone into the office won't be back until 3."

"I'm coming over, give me 20"

"Thank you"

"Always Kate, always"

Kate sits on her couch as she waits for Rick, the phone now thrown on the coffee table, her eyes trained on the door. She's still wearing her lounge pants and Ricks top, she knows he's going to love it when he sees her in it. She's smiles at the thought, at the way his smile reaches his eyes, the way his eyes shine when he's with her, god she misses him.

The sound of someone knocking on her front door brings her out of her thoughts; she jumps up quickly as she runs to the door, pulling it open without hesitation a huge smile on her face. That is until her eyes fall on the person in front of her, the long red hair framing the face of the young castle.

"Alexis?" Kate questions, her eyes searching the girls "Jo's at school until 3, you want to come back then?"

"I'm actually here to talk to you Kate" Alexis speaks softly, her voice steady as she steps over the threshold of Kate's apartment.

"Sure, come in" Kate mutters as she closes her apartment door, heading straight for the coffee table and her phone. She quickly grabs it sending a message to Rick 'Alexis just showed up, what do you want to do? Love KB x'

"You want something to drink Alexis?" Kate asks as she follows the teen into her kitchen, she's slouched against the counter, avoiding Kate's eyes.

"No, I'm good" Alexis replied as she took a seat at the counter.

"Sweetie you okay?" Kate quizzes as her phone vibrates signalling a text from Rick.

"I'm sorry" Alexis states, her voice timid and shaky, like she was about to start crying. Kate quickly looks at her phone to read the message 'will go to a cafe for a while, text me when she leaves. Love RC x'

"Alexis? Why are you sorry?" Kate enquires; she's now kneeling beside the teen as she places a hand on her shoulder

"We shouldn't have said that last night, we were hurt that you didn't tell us, so we wanted to hurt you back, but the way you and dad looked when you came back to the loft, I, I couldn't believe it, you were actually breaking up for us, and I could see how much it was hurting the both of you. I've never seen you cry, but when I saw you, I knew that you loved my dad, but I realised that you also loved me because you were putting my needs before your own." Alexis started, her eyes filling with tears as she continued to look at the floor. "I'm so sorry, it was my idea, Jo just went along with it, I called her this morning, she wasn't happy, and we ruined your night. But you make my dad happier than I ever thought possible, both you and Jo, Jo's the sister I never had."

"Alexis sweetie, look at me." Kate told her as she place a hand on the teen's arm, "I love your dad more than I ever thought possible, and yes I love you, and Jo loves you. We might not have liked what happened last night, but we want you to be happy more than ourselves being happy. But you need to be sure, you need to tell us when you're not okay with things, when you want some time alone with your dad, or Jo just wants time with me, you've got to tell us, because we don't want to mess this up, I'm in it for the long haul with your dad, but as soon as you girls aren't okay we will respect that." Kate reassured the girl, they needed to understand that this wasn't some casual relationship that was going to end horribly and leave the girls heartbroken "How about we have a movie night tonight? A redo for last night if you want, you and Jo can pick the films we watch. Forget about what happened and just move on?"

"I'd like that, I think Jo would too. Will Jim be coming? Cause Grams will be home, so we might as well make it the whole family." Alexis inputs as her hand moves up to swipe the tears that have betrayed her

"I'll ask him. Are you working with Lanie today?" Kate stands up as she sees the girl wipe at the tears on her cheeks

"Yeah, I should probably go, I told her that I'd be in for just after dinner, and well it's almost twelve. Thank you for listening to me Kate, I'll see you tonight" Alexis is up from her chair and pulling Kate into a hug as she speaks

"I will always be here for you Alexis, don't you ever doubt that. I'll see you tonight. Have fun with Lanie, well as much as you can" Kate returned the hug as she answered the girl.

The duo pulled apart both with smiles on their faces, they'd worked things out and tonight they were going to spend time as a family. Kate walked Alexis to the door, making sure she was okay one last time before hugging the girl again and watching her walk towards the elevator. Kate watches the doors close before she spins on her heels, and rushes back into the apartment to find her phone, kicking the door shut in the process. She finds her phone and quickly calls Rick, a huge smile on her face as she waits for him to answer he is going to be so happy about this.

"Hi, has she gone?" Rick answers the phone

"Hi, yeah, she just left she's working with Lanie again today, so feel free to come up whenever you want." Kate replied, her voice happier than it was this morning.

"Why do you sound so happy?" Rick quizzed as he ordered two coffees from the cafe he was currently in

"Get here and I'll tell you" Kate shot back

"Give me 10minutes" Rick replies as he grabs the two coffees and heads out of the door

"See you soon" Kate tells him as she hangs up the phone and places it back on her kitchen counter

The next time she here's a knock at her door her smile widens as she knows it won't be anyone else but him. She quickly jumps off the couch and runs towards the door looking through the peephole to see a smiling Rick holding two coffees. Her smile only gets wider at the fact that he is still bringing her coffee. She quickly opens the door to greet him with a small kiss to his cheek, allowing him to enter her apartment.

"Here, figured you'd probably need it" Rick tells her as he hands over her coffee

"Thanks, but I'm not too bad, had a nice chat with your daughter" Kate informs him, her smile getting wider, her eyes sparkling

"Kate? What is it?" Rick asks as he follows her to the living room

"They don't mean it they were upset that we didn't tell them sooner so they acted like they didn't like the idea of us being a couple. Alexis was nearly crying earlier when she told me, apparently Jo wasn't happy about the result of it all either. So we are having a big family movie night tonight at the loft." Kate beamed back at him

"Thank God" Rick exclaimed as he rushed towards her enveloping her in a hug before crashing his lips to hers. His lips were forceful against hers, bruising as he pressed her into the nearest wall. She didn't care, the feel of him pressed so close against her was exhilarating, spending a month apart does that to you, the need to have one another overpowering their need for oxygen. He pushed her further into the wall, his arms finding the curve of her ass as he pushed her up the wall to align her with him. She gasped into his mouth at the feel of his erection pressing into her; she instinctively wrapped her legs around him, locking her ankles together and pushing him into her. Her hands found home in his hair, tugging at the small stands as she held him close, her mouth working over his perfectly. He grabbed both hands from his hair and pinned them above her head, locking them in place with one large hand before allowing the other to roam her body freely. She gasped again at the feel of his hands sliding under her shirt, spanning the expanse of her back, pushing her towards him. The slight part in her mouth was met with his dominant tongue which swiped across her bottom lip before slipping inside to find hers, teasing the tip before plunging into her mouth. He moved to her neck, as his free hand found the waistband of her lounge pants, pushing them down slightly, dipping his hand into the front to stroke the lace of her pants.

"Ah, God, Rick" Kate breathed as she felt his warm palm against her tight bundle of nerves

There was a loud knocking at her apartment door that brought the pair back out of their bubble, both snapping their heads up to look at each other.

"Don't answer it Kate, just leave it" Rick breathed against her neck

"I can't, it could be important" Kate shot back, her hands pulling free from his grasp

"Kaatee" He whined as she unlocked her legs from his hip at the sound of another knock

"Oh my god. Who is that?" Kate moaned as she straightened herself up, checking herself in the mirror beside them before turning towards the door

"I'm nipping to the bathroom" Rick tells her as he heads for the bathroom down the hallway

Kate heads towards the door, taking one quick glance towards Ricks back before grabbing hold of the handle and pulling the door open, only to be met with a furious looking Lanie.

"Girl, are you seriously that stupid?!" Lanie shouts as she steps over the threshold of her friend's apartment

"Hello to you too and please come in" Kate mutters as she closes the door behind her friend and follows her to the living room

"Don't mock me, you split up with Writer-Boy, after all this time, what were you thinking?" Lanie almost shouts as she sits on the couch

"The girls are more important, we agreed that if they weren't okay with this, then we'd stop" Kate told her calmly

"How are you so calm about all of this? I've never seen you like this before, you're never going to find anyone better than him, so why are you so calm? And why are you smiling?" Lanie quizzes, her eyes scanning her friend and her apartment

"Have you seen Alexis today?" Kate responds, ignoring all of Lanie's questions

"Yes, why do you think I'm here? She called me this morning, telling me what had happened last night, she was crying down the damn phone, how could you think they were being serious? I mean-Lanie was cut off by the sound of the toilet flushing and a door closing-Who's that?" Lanie glanced towards the hallway before looking back at her friend

"Rick, you can come out" Kate shouted through the apartment

"I wasn't hiding" Rick returned as he entered the living room

"What? Alexis told me you guys had broken up? Are you going behind their backs? I mean you deserve each other, but they won't like it." Lanie told them as she watched Rick walk up to Kate and place his hand on her shoulder, giving her a light squeeze

"We're not going behind their backs. Alexis came to talk to me this morning, apologising about last night, saying that they didn't mean it, that they just wanted to upset us like we'd upset them." Kate told her friend as she moved to place a hand atop of Rick's on her shoulder.

"Seriously, I came all the way over here for nothing?" Lanie mumbled as she looked between her two friends

"Afraid so" Rick replied

"Okay, I'm just going to go back to work and talk to Alexis. Walk me to the door alone Kate." Lanie told her friend as she stood to leave, Kate following suit behind her, "Did I interrupt something?"

"Kind of yeah, it's been a month" Kate told her friend, honesty being her new policy

"A MONTH?!" Lanie hissed at her friend, "How have you stayed away from each other that long?"

"Teenage kids aren't exactly easy to hide things from, so yeah, a month, and this is the second time we've been, interrupted shall I say, since yesterday was kind of our decision." Kate informed her friend who stood with facing her, mouth agape as she listened.

"I'm going, go get your freak on with writer boy" Lanie told her as she pulled her into a hug

"Definitely writer man, Lanie." Kate whispered before pulling back and smiling as her friend turned to leave.

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**I hope you enjoyed it. Will hopefully get this updated faster now.**

**Amy**


	6. Chapter 6

**I think I've got back into this story thanks to the feedback i received from the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one, one of the few 'M' rated chapters that will occur within the story.**

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"Did she just say, 'get your freak on?'" Rick asked her as he stepped behind her, arms wrapping around her waist

"Pretty much, yeah. Why? Do you not want to get your freak on with me?" Kate muttered back as she turned her head to capture his lips, her arm sliding up and around his neck, holding him in place

"I'd much rather make love to you, but whatever works for you" Rick breathed against her lips once they pulled apart, smiling against her as he felt the corners of her mouth lift

"I think that can be arranged" She returned, her hand finding the locks on the door and securely locking them in, "No more interruptions"

"No more interruptions" He responded spinning her and lifting her into his arms, pressing her against her apartment door. The giggle that escaped her lips as he did so only made him love her more, she smiled at him as she locked her legs around his waist before pulling his head towards hers and crashing her lips over his.

Rick grabbed onto the back of her thighs as he pulled away from the door and to head for her bedroom, stumbling along the way as she peppered kisses across his jaw and neck while she blindly unbuttoned his shirt.

"God I've missed you" Kate breathed against his neck as she slid his shirt from his shoulders, tossing it to the corner of her living room. His hands quickly found their way to the hem of the top she wore.

"Is this mine?" Rick breathed against her lips as he pulled back slightly

"Yes" Kate replied before moving back in to pull his bottom lip between her teeth, biting down gently before running her tongue along it.

"That's sexy" Rick moaned.

"Even sexier off" Kate shot back, biting her bottom lip as she felt him grasp the hem of the top and in one swift motion pull it over her head.

"Agreed" Rick groaned in appreciation as he noticed that not only was she wearing his top, but that was indeed all her upper body consisted of.

His hands ran up the length of her sides before he brushed past the curve of her breast, eliciting a gasp from her. He continued to roam his hands around her upper body as his mouth attacked hers. He knew he was being rough, but a whole month did that to you, and she was giving just as good as she got. Her hands ran along his chest, then round to his back before she pulled him closer, pressing their upper bodies together. The feel of naked skin against each other made the duo break from the kiss as they both moaned in appreciation.

"You feel amazing" Rick breathed against her ear before biting down on her lobe, receiving a gasp in response, before whispering "so amazing"

"Show me how amazing" Kate teased as she brushed her hand down his chest to the waistband of his jeans, before cupping him through his trousers

"Damn it woman" Rick groaned as he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up before pressing her against the nearest wall, "I'll show you alright"

He heard her gasp as he pressed himself into her, pushing her into the wall as his lips assaulted her neck. Nipping and sucking while his hands worked on loosening her sweats.

"Rick!" she exclaimed once he'd loosened her sweats enough to move a hand into her trousers, feeling her over her pants.

"God your so wet" Rick grunted as he pressed her into the wall, his mouth attaching to her breast as he continued to rub his hand in a circular motion around her clit.

"Bed, now" Kate moaned between gasps, she needed all of him, it had been too long, they could have their extra fun later

Rick hoisted her up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his body as he moved away from the wall, to find that her bedroom door was right next to him. He swiftly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open with his back as he stumbled into her room. He heard the door close behind them, no doubt her doing, before he spun them once again to have her back facing the bed. He pushed them closer to the bed until her legs collided with the mattress, her eyes locked on his and a smile spread across her face.

"What?" Rick asked as he pushed her sweats down her legs

"Nothing, I'm just happy" Kate breathed as she unbuttoned his jeans, before quickly unzipping them and pushing them down his legs

"You better be" Rick returned as he pushed forward, forcing her climb onto the bed.

Rick watched her climb to the centre of her bed before she turned towards him, holding her hand out as she wait kneeling in the centre. "You're so sexy"

"Are you going to stop talking and get over here?" Kate mused as she watched him pull his jeans off of his legs and climb onto the bed with her

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her towards him before crashing his lips to hers. One hand instinctively moving to her neck, holding her in place while the other stayed at her waist. While her hands found their home in his hair, nails softly digging into his scalp, while their tongues battled for dominance.

He gently pressed his body into hers, knowing she would understand the action, her body relaxed as he gently moved them to lay down on her bed, his body hovering over hers. His hands left their place to find the waistband of her pants. He dipped his fingers under, brushing against her clit before pulling out. He moved his hand to the bottom of her pants, brushing against her thigh as he slipped his fingers inside again, brushing against her clit before moving down to brush against her lips, before hooking his finger over the material of her pants and pulling them down her legs in one swift motion. She lifted her legs allow him to pull her pants off and watched as he threw them across the room. Her eyes locked with his when he turned to look at her once more, before she watched him glance down her body, a smile spreading across his face.

"Rick..now..please" Kate moaned, the way he was unconsciously licking his lips made the heat in her belly burn for release.

He rolled away to pull his boxers off, returning seconds later pressed against her, rubbing against her entrance.

"Ah..God" The sensation of being this close making the pair gasp, neither really knowing who spoke at the contact. Kate didn't care, she reached between them to grasp him between her slender fingers. Stroking him roughly before swiping her thumb across his head making him gasp and jump. She steadied him with her free hand before she continued to stroke him, pushing his tip against her entrance on every upward stroke teasing them both. She slowly worked him until she brushed her thumb over his tip once more, noticing he was ready, before placing him at her entrance and removing her hand from him, only to place it seconds later in his bum, giving him a squeeze of encouragement which sent him thrusting forward and into her in one swift motion. She gasped in response, the feel if being completed filled by him being something she had missed over the past month. He stilled, waiting for her to adjust to him again, one hand stroking her side while the other reached up the stroke her face before he softly brushed his lips over hers.

"You okay?" Rick asked as he noticed her eyes were still closed

"Yeah, just been too long" Kate replied, her eyes fluttering open and locking with his.

"Never again" Rick stated

"Never again" Kate agreed before Rick started to pull out of her slowly, the feel of him brushing past her inner walls making her moan in anticipation, and he didn't disappoint as he thrust back into her slowly, pushing further in. She wrapped her legs around his waist shifting the angle as he pulled out once again, the pressure of her feet locked together behind him caused him to thrust into her fast and deep causing the duo to grunt and moan in response.

They returned to their slow steady rhythm, hands brushing softly over the other. Kate's roaming his back, face and hair as he slowly brought them closer to ecstasy. While his brushed across her waist, up her sides, and over her breasts.

It didn't take long for the pair to become inpatient with the steady rhythm they had created and soon they were both moving together in a fast and sloppy motion, bit caring that their hands gripped all too tightly in the other, that their moans only seemed to get louder, that mouths bit down harder on necks and shoulders. They were lost to the world, only caring about one another, and the glorious feeling their joining created.

As their orgasms crashed over them, the only sound was the name shouted by the other, their eyes locked as they came apart around, in and for one and other.

Their breathing slowly steadied as they remain connected, eyes still locked, hands caressing the other, smiles spread across their faces as they slowly pulled apart to lay side by side.

Rick tugged on her waist, pulling her into his side, where she curled her body around his, hand resting on his chest before reaching down to pull the sheet over them, covering their bodies as they drifted into a sated sleep.

The pair were jolted awake by the repetitive knocking on Kate's apartment door. She shot up in bed as she registered the sound and noticed Ricks eyes were wide open, like a dear caught in the headlights, which, in a way, she found kind of cute. She leant over to brush her lips over his before she stood from the bed and grabbed her dressing gown.

"I'll go see who it is" Kate simply stated as she excited the room, not thinking to check the time as she wandered through her apartment.

"I'm coming" Kate shouted as she heard yet another knock at the door, she quickly unlocked the door, slid the deadbolt off and swung the door open to reveal two rather angry looking relatives

"It's about time mum, jeez, we've been knocking for over an hour, and why are you in your dressing gown?" Jo quizzed as she stepped into the apartment, her grandfather in tow

"Why are you home? What time is it?" Kate asked confused, it can't be 3pm already she could swear it was only 12pm when they fell asleep or a little after, there was no way they had slept for three hours during the day.

"It's 4.30 mum, Alexis says we're having a family movie night at her house, why aren't you ready? She said to be there for 5. Hurry up." Jo exclaimed as she ran through the apartment towards her bedroom stopping abruptly as she caught a glimpse of something in the living room, "Mum, who's shirt is that?"

"Jo sweetie, go get ready please" Kate simply replied, ignoring her daughters question

"But.." Jo started

"Now please" Kate cut her off, watching her stalk into her bedroom and slam her door shut

"Ricks here isn't he?" Jim asked

"Sort of yeah, didn't know it was that late sorry" Kate blushed as she spoke to her father "I'm just going to go get ready now"

Jim watched his daughter run towards the offending piece of clothing and quickly pluck it up off the floor along with another that his granddaughter had clearly missed. A small smile spread across his lips as the memories of him and Joanne came flooding back, the times when they used to get the house to themselves and all sense of decency went out of the window. At least he knew his daughter was happy.

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**Let me know what you thought, spurs me on a little. The next chapter will be more focused around the family movie night, where the story of Joanna's disappearance comes into play.**

**Amy**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is a fast update. I've got some ideas of where to take this once again. So I hope your enjoying this story. If you have any thoughts feel free to let me know. Enjoy.**

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_Jim watched his daughter run towards the offending piece of clothing and quickly pluck it up off the floor along with another that his granddaughter had clearly missed. A small smile spread across his lips as the memories of him and Joanne came flooding back, the times when they used to get the house to themselves and all sense of decency went out of the window. At least he knew his daughter was happy._

"No dad, we are not watching that again. We watched it last time? What is your obsession with it?" Alexis asked as the family gathered around the DVD rack to find the first film of the night.

"I don't have an obsession, I just like it" Rick pouted in return.

"You kind of do honey, I mean we've watched it at least three times since we've been dating, never mind the times when we weren't." Kate shot back, clearly sticking with the girls on this one.

"I knew this would happen, ganging up on me, so unfair. I just like the film, is that a problem?" Rick asked

"Kind of" Jim started, "I mean come on Rick it's not a typical guy film"

"You're supposed to be my back up here Jim, two against four, we're already outnumbered" Rick stated, "And there is absolutely nothing wrong with '10 things I hate about you' it is a perfectly good film"

"For a teenage girl, come on Rick, even I haven't seen it as many times as you and mum seem to have, and I would like to point out, that I am in fact, a teenage girl." Jo stated as she plucked the film out of Rick's hand "This is definitely a no, everyone who agrees say 'I'"

A resounding 'I' shot around the living room as Rick looked towards his girlfriend

"The 'I's' have it honey, nothing you can do about that" Kate replied, gently tapping his cheek with her hand

"How about you guys pick the film, while Kate and I decide on the food?" Rick asked the group, "That a deal?"

"Deal" Alexis shouted as she turned back towards the DVD rack to find a film everyone would enjoy.

Rick stood, pulling Kate to her feet and into the kitchen, out of the way of their family. He backed her up against the counter before claiming her lips with his. She responded instantly, her hands combing into his hair as her mouth opened for him, tongues fighting for dominance as they connected inside her mouth.

"Missed you" Rick mumbled once they'd pulled apart

"I haven't gone anywhere" Kate shot back rolling her eyes

"But it's been a while since I've done this" Rick breathed against her lips before he gently crushed his lips to hers once again, smiling as he heard the quiet moan that escaped her lips at the contact

"Food Rick, more of that later, definitely more later" Kate replied, her hand cupping his cheek as she placed a gentle kiss to his lips before pushing on his chest to spin around and find the menus "Chinese sound okay?"

"Sure, let me grab a pen and paper to jot down what we will be ordering" Rick rounded the counter to pull a pen and notepad out of the draws before appearing behind Kate, pushing her once again into the counter as he looked over her to see the menu.

The duo pointed out what they knew everyone would eat, having it all family made it easier to pick what to order. And within minutes Rick was on the phone and placing the order, watching Kate head back into the living room to their family.

"They said about 20minutes, so what did you guys pick?" Rick asked, looking towards Kate

"Well we know Grams isn't really one for the horrors, so we stayed away from those, and well we didn't want it to be too girly, so we went for a comedy" Alexis started

"So we decided that we would watch the Carry On films from the beginning, since who doesn't love a bit of British comedy right?" Jo finished

"I totally forgot we had those, haven't seen them in ages" Rick replied, the excitement evident in his voice "What are we waiting for?"

"Well we thought we would eat at the table, like a first family dinner sort of thing, so we didn't want to start straight away." Kate told him, "So we're going to get the fort ready"

"I didn't think you'd want a fort?" Rick asked his daughter shocked

"Well Jo's never had a fort, so I thought we could break the Beckett family in on our tradition" Alexis beamed at her father

"That's a great idea sweetie" Rick replied, smiling at his daughter with what could only be described as pure pride.

"Jo you go with Alexis and grab some more things from upstairs. Once we get those on I think we're set." Rick told the group

"Our food should be here soon anyway" Kate told the group as she checked her watch

"Okay, this is officially awesome" Jo exclaimed as she stepped back to look at the fort they had created "Why didn't we ever do this mum?"

"We never really had the time sweetie. But this is kind of cool right?" Kate asked her daughter

"Let me get a picture, this has to be something for the scrap book" Jim told his daughter

"You still do that?" Kate quizzed

"Of course, now let me get my camera set up and we can all stand in front of it" Jim replied

"Scrap book?" Rick questioned Kate as she watched her father head to find his camera

"Long story, will see if he will bring it to show you" Kate replied before the sound of someone knocking on the door interrupted her, "Think that's food?"

"I'll go get it, you wait here for your dad, so we can get that photo" Rick told her, before placing a kiss to her lips

"You don't have to do it all the time you know, just because you told us and we're okay with it, doesn't mean we want to see it all the time" Alexis told them as her hand shot up to cover Jo's eyes in mock disgust

"Understood girls, now come on, let's see where Gramps is" Kate told the girls as they ran off to find Jim

"How long does it take to pay the delivery guy Rick, jeez, we're starving here" Kate exclaimed as she walked towards the front door to find Rick frozen to the spot "Rick? Look at me"

She didn't expect him to turn around, thinking the worst. She watched as her spun on the spot, his shocked eyes looking at hers, before he spun around again to look at whatever or whoever was on the other side of the door.

"Rick what is it?" Kate enquired as she stepped closer towards the door, "This isn't funny, you look like you've seen a gho...st" Kate stuttered at the end when she reached the door, her eyes finding what Ricks were so shocked about "Mum?"

She didn't expect to see her mother stood there in front of her; she never thought this would happen, after all the time she spent looking for her, thinking she was dead. This couldn't be happening, it wasn't real.

"Katie" Johanna breathed, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at her daughter, then to the man next to her "Richard Castle, you did well sweetie"

Neither of the duo spoke, they could tell Johanna was trying to lighten the mood, but they thought she was dead, this wasn't exactly something to joke about.

"Delivery for Castle?" the sound of the delivery boy make Rick snap out of his funk before he turned to see the delivery boy looking at the group with a confused look on his face

"Us, thanks, here you go" Rick mumbled to the delivery boy before handing him the money and a generous tip before taking the Chinese from his hands

"Mum? Will you guys hurry up? We're starving here, and we want to start the movie" Jo shouted, hearing no response Jo made her way towards the door of the loft "I'm coming to the door, so you guys better not be doing something other than getting our food, because I'd rather not see that no matter how much I love you guys"

"Sweetie, I want you to stop where you are, turn around and go get Gramps for me okay?" Kate softly told her daughter

"Mum are you okay, you sound a little worried?" Jo asked

"Sweetie, just do it okay?" Kate replied, her eyes still focused on her mothers

"Okay. Gramps, mum wants you at the door" Jo shouted as she turned back into the living room

"Daughter?" Johanna asked, her eyes lighting up at the thought of having a granddaughter

"Kate, you need to talk" Rick told her as he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed

"Yes daughter, she's 13" Kate answered, her eyes now trained on Rick

"Katie, look at me" Johanna asked softly, but Kate never budged

"Katie what is it? You've got Jo all worried thinking one of you is hurt" Jim asked as he approached the door "Why you still stood here when Rick has the food?"

He saw his daughter lock eyes with Rick before they both stepped aside so that Jim could see who was at the door, his eyes widened in shock as he registered who it was.

"Johanna?" Jim whispered, loud enough for the group to hear, causing Johanna to nod her head at his question "This isn't possible"

"Kate, why don't we invite your mum in, so we can eat our food then talk about all of this?" Rick asked her

"And say what to Jo?" Kate quizzed, her eyes finding his, "Hey this is your Gram, we don't know what happened to her, or how she ended up here, but let's eat food first then talk? You think she's going to go for that?"

"I'll explain over dinner" Johanna inputted "I know this is a shock, but I didn't know what to do, I tried your place but you weren't there, then I saw something on the news, and thought I'd try my luck here"

"Dad, you okay?" Kate asked as she moved away from the door to her father, who was still stood looking at Johanna

"Just shocked Katie, I think we should do what Rick says, she is your mum after all" Jim told her as he enveloped her in a hug

"Are you sure?" Kate mumbled into his shoulder

"I'm sure yeah" Jim replied as he released her

"Welcome to the Castle residence Johanna" Rick told her as he motioned his arm, allowing her to enter the loft

"Thank you, I really appreciate this" Johanna spoke as she continued to walk towards Jim

Jim was still stood looking at her, his daughter had moved to the side, now stood waiting for Rick as she watched her father. She could see the smile threatening to spread across his face at the sight of his wife; she'd forgotten how happy they were together.

"Jim" Johanna whispered as she stopped in front of him, her eyes brimming with tears

"Honey come here" Jim whispered back as Johanna walked into his arms, wrapping herself around him, letting the tears flow as Jim tightened his grip on her, "Why don't you two go get the table set up, we won't be a minute"

Jim turned his head to see his daughter resting into Rick's side, the tears flowing down her face as she looked at her mother and father stood before her, a small smile spreading across her face. He saw Rick nod, and watched him steer his daughter away and into the kitchen.

"She hates me" Johanna mumbled into her husband's shoulder

"She doesn't hate you, she thought you were dead, we all did" Jim softly replied, his hand stroking his wife's hair to sooth her

"I've missed you both so much, and I've missed out on my first granddaughter growing up" Johanna spoke, her voice cracking as she started to cry once again "She has every right to hate me"

"This wasn't your fault, and Katie knows that, she knows you didn't run away from us, she just needs to get used to the idea of you being here again. Come on, let's go meet your granddaughter" Jim reassured her as he pulled back and placed a gentle kiss to her cheek, before wiping at her tears and pulling her further into the loft.

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**I know it's not much of a cliff hanger, but if I didn't stop there I would have wrote an extremely long chapter, which would take forever to read.**

**Amy**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know it wasn't a cliff hanger last time, but I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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_"This wasn't your fault, and Katie knows that, she knows you didn't run away from us, she just needs to get used to the idea of you being here again. Come on, let's go meet your granddaughter" Jim reassured her as he pulled back and placed a gentle kiss to her cheek, before wiping at her tears and pulling her further into the loft._

"Mum?" Jo quizzed as she watched her mum and Rick walk into the kitchen, Chinese in one hand and his other wrapped around her while she wiped at the tears running down her face.

"I'm okay sweetie" Kate muttered back as she watched her daughter head towards her and envelope her in a hug. "I promise everything is going to be okay"

"What is it? Me and Alexis are okay with you guys, you can be together" Jo replied

"Me and Rick are still together sweetie, don't worry. I just, I need to tell you something" Kate whispered to her daughter as she stroked her hair, "Look at me"

Jo did as she was told, she stepped back to look at her mum, her eyes bloodshot from the crying, making her want to just dive back in for another hug to try and comfort her. "What is it? Are you pregnant?"

"No! Jesus Jo, way to jump ahead" Kate exclaimed "It's about Grams"

"NO! You said you wouldn't do it again, you said you had stopped, you can't do this mum!" Jo shouted as she stepped out of her mums embrace only to be grabbed by her mum and pulled back

"I meant what I said Jo, I'm not, and I don't need to, because, well, Grams is, she's..."

"Here" Johanna finished for her daughter as she walked into the kitchen

All heads in the room spun around to see Jim and Johanna walking into the Kitchen. Jims arm resting on the small of Johanna's back as he steered her into the room, encouraging her to make her entrance.

"Grams? But, your, she's..." Jo stammered

"We just thought she was dead, it was always easier to tell you that, make it less confusing for you, but Grams went missing around fourteen years ago, not long before I fell pregnant with you. You never met her, so us telling you she died was the best way to keep you from getting hurt, we never thought she would come back" Kate told her daughter as she hugged her tighter, her hand running through her hair.

"How about we have some dinner?" Rick suggested "We can eat in the living room while you guys eat in here. Give you some privacy to catch up"

"No Rick, we're a family, everyone deserves to know what happened" Kate replied, reaching out a hand to grasp his and give it a reassuring squeeze.

"Come on guys, there is enough food for everyone, take a seat" Rick told the group before heading towards the table and placing the food in the centre.

The group sat down, each silent as they filled their plates with food and started eating. No-one wanted to talk first; they were waiting for someone to break the ice, someone to make the tension go away. Kate would occasionally look towards her mum and dad who were sat together and then look towards her daughter who was sat next to Alexis, she still looked shocked, still trying to process what was going on.

"Where do you want me to start?" Johanna asked after everyone had eaten half of their meal

"How about the beginning mum, 'cause I sure as hell have no idea what the hell happened" Kate shot back, dropping her fork onto her plate and running a hand through her hair, "sorry, still a little shocked I guess"

"Katie I'm sorry okay, I didn't know this was going to happen, the case I was working seemed relatively normal, nothing out of the ordinary, a simple open and shut case that didn't really need me to do anything, I was just representing them. But we got to the hearing and something felt off, I could tell that something was going to happen; I just didn't expect it to be this. They made us get into the back of the van and I know that it sounds stupid but I had no choice, it was either that or they'd come after you and your dad. I couldn't let that happen, they never threatened to hurt us, just told us that we needed to disappear. I was representing them, you know I don't judge people wrong, they just needed to lay low, they were being tricked, but they had to prove it before we were allowed back. I wasn't the only one, there were four of us, all of us worked the case and had information and means of finding it that they needed." Johanna stopped to allow her family to process the information

"Who are they mum?" Kate asked

"No, you don't need to know that. It's over and everything is alright" Johanna told her daughter

"Everything is alright? How can you even say that? You missed out on everything, me having Jo, joining the academy, becoming Detective, Jo growing up. So how can you say that everything is alright?" Kate snapped at her mum once again

"Katie! I get that you're mad but you don't need to shout at your mum" Jim scolded his daughter

"How can you be so forgiving? Just accept that she didn't do this to us?" Kate asked her dad, her food completely forgotten

"Because I love your mum, and no matter what may have happened I will continue to love her. She didn't do this on purpose Katie" Jim told his daughter, his hand reaching for that of his wives as he spoke

"Katie, please, just listen to me" Johanna started "We were taken out of the country, I wasn't allowed to contact anyone, couldn't do anything other than what they wanted. We were allowed out, but always had a guard with us, we were never alone. I couldn't find anything out about you until a few years ago, when Rick started following you, his publicity allowed me to find some extra information on you. I knew you were in the force, lead detective, but that was it. Until I heard about you getting shot, Rick jumping in front of you spread the news across the world. It scared the hell out of me, I tried to get them to let me go, I begged them to at least bring me back here and let me see you, just so I knew you were okay. They told me that I didn't need to, that they were close to ending it all, I just needed to give them another couple of months. Months turned into a year, and then one day they came to me, told me that I was free to go, that it was over and we were safe."

"And what, you've just got back into New York and came here?" Kate asked

"Well no, I tried the house, expecting to find your dad, then I tried the cabin, after that I, erm, I went to the 12th precinct, asked for Detective Beckett, they told me that you had a day off, and that I should try your home. When I told them I'd lost your address they gave me yours, which I found a bit strange considering I could have been anyone. When no-one answered at yours I came here, finding Rick's address was a lot easier, with him being famous and all." Johanna replied looking down at her plate

"Kate, she's your mum, give her a chance" Rick whispered to her as he placed his hand on her knee

"I know Rick, it's just a shock still" Kate replied

"I know it is, but you have us to help you through it, to help Jo through it." Rick whispered back before placing a kiss to the top of her head.

Kate let a small smile spread across her face before she turned back to look at her mum, catching her eyes as she looked up. She'd seen the entire exchange, and with the smile on her face she liked Rick. "Thank you. Okay. I'm still mad, but I will be fine. Can we get back to the movie night now?"

"Sure, what movie are we watching?" Johanna asked the group

"The Carry On films from the beginning" Jo replied smiling at her Grandmother

"I haven't seen those since I was a teenager" Johanna replied

The group fell into easy conversation as they finished their food, everyone involving each other in the conversation. The tension lifted and everyone settled into a comfortable silence while Rick and Kate began gathering the plates.

"Why don't you guys go get settled and put the film on, we won't be a minute" Rick told the group as he followed Kate into the kitchen. He quickly placed the plates on the side and moved to stand behind Kate as she placed her plates down and wrapped his arms around her, his head resting on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"No" Kate muttered before she turned in his arms, burying her head into his neck and letting the tears stream down her face.

"It's okay, everything is going to be okay" Rick whispered to her as he stroked her hair and rubbed her back, "Your mums alive, she's back, you just need to get used to that idea."

"I know. God, I've cried on you two days in a row. I'm such a mess lately and I have no idea why" Kate whispered to him as she stepped back to cup his face

"You sure you're not pregnant?" Rick mused

"No Rick I'm not, trust me" Kate replied before closing the distance and claiming his lips with hers. The kiss was brief, but the contact soothed her amidst all the tension from the night, "I love you"

"I love you too, now come on lets go join our family." Rick replied, placing another brief kiss to Kate's lips before turning her and pushing her towards the living room.

They rounded the corner to be met with the sound of laughing, more specifically to Kate's shock the sound of her mum and dad laughing together. She'd missed that, the sound of her mum, the way she always made her dad happy no matter what was happening, and it went both ways. She'd always wanted the kind of relationship her parents had and she knew that Rick was it; she just needed to allow herself to be loved, not just by him, but by Martha and Alexis too.

Rick studied Kate as he walked her towards the living room, noticed how her eyes lit up when she heard the laughing coming from the living room. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He squeezed her sides gently before kissing her neck, then releasing her to allow her to climb into the fort first. This was definitely something he could get used to.

"Finally, what took you guys so long?" Alexis quizzed before quickly covering her tracks "In fact, don't tell me, I'd rather not know"

"Are you guys automatically going to think that every time?" Rick quizzed the group as he sat down next to Kate, his arm wrapping around her shoulder

"Hopefully not, because I'd rather not think about it" Jo replied

"Jo!" Kate exclaimed as she looked towards her daughter

"Sorry mum" Jo replied before turning her attention to the screen, "You guys ready?"

"Yep, Carry On Sergeant is up first." Rick exclaimed with excitement as he nodded at Jo

They spent the rest of the night in silence, the occasional laugh erupting out of nowhere to set the rest of the group off before the entire room filled with laughter. Rick would look at Kate every few minutes, just because he could, and because he wanted to see the smile that was now permanently spread across her face. She was finally happy, no matter how much he tried; he knew that she wasn't going to be completely happy until she knew what had happened to her mum. After seeing that smile for the third time he leant over and placed a quick, gentle kiss on her lips, his hand now resting on her thigh before turning his attention to the screen once again.

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**So what do you think?**

**Amy.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the wait. I've been swamped with Uni work, but I do have two chapters already written that I haven't had time to upload yet, so they will be done this week, hopefully alongside a few more chapters. Got the week off so should get at least a chapter a day uploaded. Tell me what you think, I'm not entirely sure about this chapter.**

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_After seeing that smile for the third time he leant over and placed a quick, gentle kiss on her lips, his hand now resting on her thigh before turning his attention to the screen once again._

"Kate? Honey, everyone has gone to bed, come on" Rick whispered into her ear as he slowly rubbed her back to wake her up

"Rick?" Kate breathed as she slowly opened her eyes

"Come on, time for bed" Rick smiled as she opened her eyes

"Okay" Kate mumbled against his chest

Rick carried Kate towards his room, her arms wrapped around his neck as she placed light kisses along his jaw, slowly waking up from her sleep. Rick had been awake for almost an hour, watching her sleep, ever since the rest of the family had retired to their own rooms.

"Love you" Kate mumbled against his jaw as he pushed the bedroom door closed behind them

"Love you too" Rick replied after placing her down on the bed, and climbing in next to her, placing soft kisses to her forehead.

"Rick?" Kate whispered into the silent room

"Honey what's wrong?" Rick asked, laying on his back and pulling her into his side, his arms wrapping around her, placing soft kisses to her hair

"I don't know how to let my mum back into my life" Kate confessed "I've spent all my adult life without her, brought up my daughter without being able to ask my mum for help. I've got used to it and I don't know how to change the way I am."

"Look at me honey; you are going to be fine, I'm sure your mum understands that you are going to find it hard for you to simply let her back into your life. You have always had the help of your dad and in the recent years the help of all of us, your mum is just an extra person in the equation, just take things one step at a time and you will be fine." Rick replied, his hand running slowly up her sides

"Thank you Rick, you always know what to say" Kate replied as she swung her leg over his, before pulling herself up and on top of him

"Must be my vast knowledge of words" Rick replied as he brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes before pushing up and capturing her lips with his.

She responded immediately, they may have gotten their release after a month of having to stay away from each other, but she still couldn't get enough of him. Her hands found their way into his hair, a moan rumbling in his chest as she scraped her nails across his scalp. He placed his hand on the curve of her ass, while another found purchase in her hair, pulling her closer to him.

"Clothes off" Kate moaned as she pulled out of his grasp, straddling him as he found the hem of her top and pulled it over her head. His hands returning to her hips as his mouth closed over her breast, pulling her nipple between his teeth. As she arched of the bed in response to his actions she screamed out in pleasure, "God, that's amazing Rick"

*Buzz* *Buzz* *Buzz*

"Argh! You have got to be kidding me" Kate moaned as she turned to see her phone light up on the bedside table. "Rick could you pass me my phone"

He lets go of her breast with a pop before turning his head to see her phone lit up on the bedside table still buzzing, waiting to be answered. He reaches out for her phone, quickly returning and pressing it into her palm before his hands rest back on her back, pulling her flush to his body and deftly rolling them before she answers the phone.

"Beckett" Kate answers, trying to control her voice, the fact that Rick is pressing soft kisses to her neck and massaging her breast with his warm hands isn't helping matters. "Want to send me the address Ryan? Great, thanks, will see you in about twenty"

"We got a body?" Rick mutters against her neck

"Yeah sorry, we got to get going" Kate replies, her phone tossed onto the pillow beside her, as her hands rake through his hair as he continues to kiss his way down her neck and chest, "Rick, hmm, that is amazing and god, I don't want you to stop, but you know we have to."

"Spoilsport" Rick mutters against her jaw, before claiming her mouth with his. His lips brush softly over hers, before he feels the tip of her tongue pressing against his lips, begging for entrance which he gladly grants, feeling the vibrations of the small moan she releases when he pushing his tongue back against hers.

Kate pulled back first, resting her forehead against his as she tried to slow her breathing, her hand stroking his cheek as a smile spread across her face. "Love you"

"Love you too, now come on, best get dressed, don't want Gates more mad at us than she already is" Rick replied before leaning to press a soft kiss against Kate's lips and pulling back and jumping off the bed.

They jumped in the shower, together to save time of course, before Rick dressed and headed into the kitchen to start making some coffee. He pulled out the two travel mugs that they'd hidden in the back of his cupboard for the odd occasion where the two of them spent the night at his loft. The sound of the coffee machine covered the noises that were coming from upstairs, the noises that Rick was oblivious to when he first entered the kitchen from his bedroom. He turned to see Kate walking out of his office, dressed and ready for work, a shy smile on her face. Walking towards him she placed her hands on either side of his face before leaning forward and claiming his lips with hers.

"Been a while since we've done this" Kate told him as she looked from him towards the coffee machine

"Don't think we've actually used these yet" Rick replied, gesturing towards the two travel mugs on the counter.

"Me either, first for everything then" Kate responded as she stepped out of his grasp and headed towards the toaster to start their breakfast

"I love you" Rick announced as he watched her place the four slices of bread into the toaster

"Just realising that now?" Kate shot back, turning her head towards him with a smirk on her face

"No. I just love seeing you so at home in my kitchen" Rick muttered as he stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her neck.

He stayed wrapped around her until the sound of the coffee machine finishing pulled him from his thoughts, that and the sound of moaning coming from upstairs. He lifted his head at the sound to find Kate looking straight at him, eyes wide as they danced from him to the ceiling before she turned back to him, mouth open and stepped forward out of his grasp.

"Oh my god!" Kate moaned as she leant forward on the counter "I can't believe it, I managed to get through my entire life and never heard them, and now, I can't believe this, if we can hear down stairs then Jo, Alexis and your mother can hear them, especially since they are on the same floor."

"Honey calm down, its fine, I'm sure everyone else is fast asleep, it is 3am, we'd be in the middle of the same thing now had you not got a call." Rick reasoned with her

"You told me that your rooms were sound proof" Kate shot back

"No, I told you my room was sound proof, not all of them, although we may have to get that sorted if this is going to become a regular occurrence" Rick told her as he poured the coffees into their travel mugs

"Don't say that, I don't want to think of this occurring regularly" Kate moaned as she pulled the toast out of the toaster and spread the butter and jam onto their slices

The sound of yet another moan reverberated around the house as they traded coffee for toast. Ricks eyes locked with Kate's as she froze on her spot, before burying her head into his shoulder as she groaned.

"I can't believe this is happening" Kate mumbled

"Come on, let's get to work, I wrote a note for them for when they wake up. We don't need to anger Gates" Rick told her as he steered her out of the kitchen towards the door, taking a bite of his toast as they grabbed their coats

The duo arrived at the crime scene 5minutes later, neither had realised how close to the loft the scene actually was. Rick looked over at Kate as she parked the car, noticing the tense look on her face he placed his hand on her thigh, giving it a light squeeze before she turned to look at him. She gave a shy smile before leaning over and claiming his lips with hers.

"What was that for?" Rick asked as they pulled back, his hand resting on her cheek

"Calm me before we do this. Not sure how today is going to go once we get to the precinct and the Captain arrives." Kate told him before grabbing her coffee and opening her door

"Are you going to tell Lanie and the Guys about your mum?" Rick whispered as they approached the officer standing beside the apartment door

"Not right away, still getting used to it myself" Kate told him before flashing her badge at the officer and walking through the door "What we got Lanie?"

Rick watched her amazed by how easily she can switch from family Kate, to Detective Beckett.

"Female, mid thirties, GSW to the head, point blank by the looks of things" Lanie reported as she looked up at the duo "You okay?"

"We're fine why?" Kate shot back defensively

"Just asking, didn't want to drag Alexis out so early after the movie night and by the looks of things you two need some more sleep as well" Lanie told them as she noticed the duo glance quickly at one and other

"We got to bed around 1 I think, so she's not been asleep long, although I'm sure she will be begging to come in once she sees the note" Rick replied

"Sounds about right, god knows who she takes after" Kate mumbled

"Hey, I heard that" Rick groaned

"Got anything else for us Lanie?" Kate asked as she searched for Ryan and Esposito

"Nothing until I get her back to the morgue" Lanie reported "But I think Ryan and Esposito may have something for you"

"Thanks Lanie, shall see you in a bit" Kate told her

"No problem girl and I know there is something you're not telling me." Lanie told her as she watched her walk away towards the boys

"Tell you later" Was all Kate shouted back as she turned to see Ryan and Esposito looking at her with eager expressions on their faces. "What you got?"

"You're not going to believe this" Ryan started

"We've got out murderer" Esposito finished

"You're right, I don't believe you" Kate told them

"Well tough, since that" Ryan pointed towards a man currently cuffed seated on a bench with an officer watching him "Is our murderer"

"How do you know?" Rick asked them

"He confessed" Ryan and Esposito replied in unison

"Seriously I got dragged out of bed this early in a morning for the guy to just confess? Where did you find him?" Kate asked

"He phoned 911, then when the officers got here he was stood next to that tree, gun in hand and staring at the body, then he confessed the whole thing" Esposito told her

"How do you know it's not just some homeless guy wanting to go to prison so he has a better life?" Rick quizzed

"He confessed again to us about an hour after and his statement matched up with his first one" Ryan told her

"Plus his clothes are covered in blood, her blood" Esposito finished

"Okay, well let's get him back to the precinct and we can get an official statement and check out all the facts properly, got to fill the Captain in as well" Kate told the duo before she turned to head back to her car "Coming Castle"


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for the response to the last chapter. This chapter was already written and I'm having a hard time figuring out what to write for the next one, but hopefully good reviews and the great response I receive may push me to write another chapter. Fast. Enjoy.**

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"_Okay, well let's get him back to the precinct and we can get an official statement and check out all the facts properly, got to fill the Captain in as well" Kate told the duo before she turned to head back to her car "Coming Castle"_

"Morning Detectives, Mr Castle, I hear you got quite an interesting case this morning" Gates shouted as she walked into the bullpen

"You could say that sir" Kate told her as she walked towards the team

"What have we got then?" Gates asked as she leant against Ryan's desk

"Unfortunately for Castle here, we have a pretty simple jealousy case, we've got the boyfriend in interrogation room one, he's confessed three times now, once in writing, says he found out she was cheating on him with some guy from work, he confronted her about it and she said that she wanted to end things with him and he just sort of flipped out and shot her." Esposito told her

"That doesn't happen every day, so you've just got paperwork now?" Gates asked them

"Well we're just waiting on ballistics so we can confirm that the gun we found him with is the one that shot her, from the looks of the gun and the size of the bullet wounds there's a definite chance we've got our guy." Kate told her captain

"Right, well you seem to have everything in order, could I see you in my office Detective Beckett?" Gates asked as she walked towards her office not waiting for a reply

"Be right there sir" Kate shouted after her before turning towards her team

"That doesn't sound good" Ryan muttered earning a slap around the head from Esposito

"You okay?" Rick asked her

"Yeah, we knew this could happen right?" Kate told him, reaching out to grab his hand giving it a reassuring squeeze before letting go and heading towards her captain's office. "Sir?"

"Please take a seat Kate" Gates told her, she was slightly shocked by the use of her first name it wasn't something that their captain usually does

"Is everything alright Sir?" Kate asked her

"You mean aside from the fact that my best detective has been having a secret affair with her partner?" Gates mocked

"I know what we did was wrong, but we work well together, the closure rate has never been so high" Kate said going straight into defence mode

"I know, I've thought about it, Castle can stay" Gates started, noticing the relived look on Kate's face she quickly continued "But, when going out in the field he is paired with either Ryan or Esposito."

"I'm sure the boys would agree to it" Kate replied, "But what about times when I need to go out with Castle as my back up because Ryan and Esposito are already out?"

"Then you can take him with you, but this is only rare occasions okay? Because he isn't a paid member I don't have to report it so that's how we are getting around this okay?" Gates told her

"Thank you, but sir may I ask why you're doing this?" Kate quizzed

"Because you are my best detective and he makes you happy. I've known something has been going on with you for awhile now, but I thought I'd let you come to me about it first. I talked to Roy about it and he told me that it probably wasn't Castle since you've been avoiding the idea of a relationship with him for four years now and you're not just going to change your mind over night." Gates told her

"Thank you" Kate replied going to stand

"Wait" Gates shouted

"Sir?" Kate questioned

"Please sit down" Gates told her, her voice serious once again "I had a very interesting conversation with a member of the public yesterday"

"Sir?" Kate quizzed once again

"A woman around my age came to see me yesterday, uniforms let her up, she was pretty insistent that she talk to the person in charge, so they sent her up. Imagine my surprise when she asked for you" Gates told her, taking in her detectives shocked expression "After telling her that you had the day off, she simply asked for your address, claiming that she had lost it. I don't usually give that information out, but I did yesterday, she was the spitting image of you"

"She's my mother" Kate whispered into the now silent office

"I know, ran facial recognition on her as soon as she left. Take it she found you then?" Gates asked her

"Yeah, yeah she did" Kate told her captain

"I thought your mother was dead Beckett?" Gates stated bluntly

"She disappeared 14 years ago, dad took it hard and I went a bit crazy for a while, that's how I got Jo, wasn't exactly my proudest moment, but she's made it all seem better." Kate told her with a smile spreading across her face "I told people she was dead, it seemed easier that way, Roy and the boys know that she only went missing, but it was easier to tell Jo that she had died, which bites you in the ass when she turns up alive"

"Can't imagine that being any good" Gates told her

"Well not really, I'm still kind of shocked by it all, and well Jo thought I was investigating her 'murder' again, so she got mad until she walked into the room"

"Again?" Gates quizzed

"When I first started I spent a while diving into her case trying to find her, spent a lot of late nights and Jo wasn't happy that she didn't get time to see me often so I told her that I would stay away from it, and I have."

"Right, do you need the day off work? You can take a personal day, I'm sure the boys can do the paperwork" Gates told her

"That would be great actually sir, thanks" Kate told her

"No problem. Now get him out of here before I change my mind" Gates tells her, gesturing towards Castle through the window of her office

"Will do Sir" Kate told her as she left the office "Castle?"

"What's wrong? I've got to go haven't I? Did she suspend you?" Rick started firing questions at her before she cut him off

"No, now stop talking. She gave us the day off" Kate told him

"Why?" Rick quizzed as he watched her put her jacket on

"I'll tell you in the car, but don't worry, you are stopping here" Kate replied with a smile, "Now will you hurry up? Captain says you've got to do the paperwork Javi."

"Great, go enjoy your day off, favourite" Esposito muttered in reply

"I heard that" Kate shouted as she walked towards the lift, "See you later boys"

"Bye Beckett, Castle" The boys shouted in unison.

"Kate what's going on?" Rick asked once they were safely in the lift

"Remember my mom said she came to the precinct yesterday to find me?" Kate started, waiting for him to nod, "Well she asked to talk to the person in charge, she talked to Gates, and she kind of figured it out."

"Wow, so she gave you the day off?" Rick asked

"Yeah, I told her that I was still in shock so she said we could go home. Can try and sort this all out with my mum before Jo gets back from school that way." Kate told him, "Should probably call dad to tell him we are coming back"

"Yeah, might be a good idea" Rick replied, a small smile forming on his lips before the lift came to a halt and the doors opened "Come on"

"Thanks, you think you could call while I drive?" Kate asked as they climbed into the car

"Sure, what am I saying though?" Rick asked her

"Just tell them that Gates gave us the day off and that we are on our way home and that we want to talk to them" Kate told him

"On it" Rick told her as he pressed the speed dial button on her phone "Hey Jim its Rick"

"What's wrong? Is Katie okay?" Jim asked

"Dad I'm fine" Kate shouted

"She's just driving" Rick reassured him

"Oh, great, that's good, why are you calling?" Jim asked still confused

"Gates gave us the day off, apparently your wife made quite the impression yesterday so we're on our way home, should be back in about 10minutes" Rick told him

"10minutes? Wow that's soon, okay, well your mother is out, Jo is at school and Alexis just left to go to the morgue." Jim told him

"Yeah, figured that would be the case, but that's fine, we can try and sort a few things out this way" Rick told him, "So see you in 10"

"Yeah, see you soon" Jim replied before hanging up the phone

"I think I just interrupted your parents" Rick told her

"Please don't, I don't need to know that" Kate told him, her face contorting at the thought of it

"It's to be expected, they haven't seen each other for 14 years honey, you saw what we were like after a month and after 4 years of holding back." Rick told her

"I know, but that's not something a daughter needs to really know about, no matter how old she is" Kate told him

"It'll be okay, he's just happy, they're both happy" Rick told her as he reached across the console and grasped her hand, leaving it there for the rest of the journey

"It's nice to see that he's happy again. I didn't think I'd be able to see him smile again, not like he did last night when we were having dinner. He couldn't stop smiling" Kate replied

"I noticed, he couldn't take his eyes off of her all night, even when we were watching the film" Rick informed her

"I'm still mad at her" Kate admitted "She doesn't know what dad went through when she disappeared, what I went through. She just expects it all to be okay because she's back with us now. I'm happy, I am, but she can't just expect me to forgive her right away. But dad has, he's just jumped back in as if nothing has happened, like she didn't disappear for fourteen years"

"You can't really blame him though Kate, he's not seen his wife for fourteen years, no matter how angry he felt before she returned, seeing the woman he loves again will make all of that go away" Rick told her

"You speak from experience" Kate instantly replied

"It is, but three months is nothing compared to fourteen years, I can understand how he could just forget about it all and be happy" He simply replied, giving her hand a light squeeze

"God I'm so sorry for putting you through that" Kate answered as she pulled the car into the parking garage, turning the engine off before turning to face him "I didn't think of the consequences, it was just the easiest thing for me to do at the time"

"I know, I'm not mad, and I didn't bring it up to make you feel bad, I was just trying to help you understand why your dad has forgiven her so easily. If it were us, I'd be exactly like your dad." Rick shamelessly admitted "You ready for this?"

"As I'll ever be" She replied leaning forward to capture his lips with hers, before exiting the car

"It's going to be fine honey, just let her try to explain herself before you jump into anything okay?" Rick told her as he rounded the car, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the elevator


	11. Chapter 11

**I know I promised one a day last week because I was off from Uni, but I really struggled to write this chapter and I'm still not all that happy with it. But I hope you like it. Let me know what you think?**

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"_It's going to be fine honey, just let her try to explain herself before you jump into anything okay?" Rick told her as he rounded the car, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the elevator_

"They're going to be 10 minutes" Jim stated as he looked towards a very flushed Johanna

"Plenty of time" She stated as she stalked towards him

"Seriously Jo, we can't" Jim replied as he watched his wife

"Why not?" She asked innocently

"I don't think Katie needs to walk in on us. She's still mad at you, honey" Jim told her

"You're right" She replied before stepping away from her husband "We should get dressed"

"We should" Jim agreed, neither of them moving

"Don't look at me like that if we have to stop" Johanna grumbled as Jims eyes travelled up and down her body

"Sorry, just still amazed" Jim whispered as he took a step towards her

"Well stop it. Our daughter is coming back, and you're right, she does not need to see this" Jo admitted

"Later?" Jim asks, his eyes shining as they lock with his wife's

"Later" Jo agrees as she grabs her clothes from the floor

"Jim? Johanna?" Rick shouted as they entered the loft.

"In the living room" Jim replied

"Thank god" Kate muttered to Rick

"Come on, coffee?" Rick asked as head to the kitchen

"That'd be great thanks. You think you could distract my dad for a while? Kind of want to talk to her on my own" Kate asked as they stood at the counter

"No problem honey" Rick replied as he placed a soft kiss to her lips "just come back in here when you're ready."

"Dad? Rick wants you in the kitchen" Kate shouted before walking into the living room

"You'll be okay" Jim whispered to his wife before placing a gentle kiss to her cheek

"Why are you home so early?" Johanna asks her daughter as she takes a seat at the opposite end of the couch

"You seem to have made quite the impression on my Captain" Kate replied "She put two and two together and gave me the day off to sort some things out"

"I see. So what do you want to know?" Johanna asks her daughter

"Why? And don't just give me the crap that you used last night" Kate replies harshly

"I don't know what else you want me to say. I can't tell you what you want to know. You want to know who took me. But I can't give you that Katie" she replied

"Why not, I think I deserve that much?" Kate quizzes

"Because it doesn't matter, they got the people behind this, there's no way they will ever be getting out of prison. I'm not even sure they got that far Katie" She admits as her eyes lock with her daughters

"What are you saying mum?" Kate ask, slightly surprised by herself for calling her mum

"I'm saying that the people I was with were CIA honey, and they don't mess around when it comes to getting what they want. The men they were looking for, they were powerful, controlled a lot of things, but they weren't smart enough for the CIA. I know it's been 14 years, trust me I know, but I couldn't get out"

"The CIA? What the hell did you get yourself in to mum?" Kate whispers harshly

"I don't know, it was one case, and then the next thing I know I'm being told that I have to leave the country, that I can't say anything to you or your dad, that I can't say goodbye. It hurt, I just had to leave, couldn't take anything with me, no pictures. Nothing" She quickly wiped at the tears running down her cheeks

"It wasn't easy for us either. Dad didn't take it well, he drank a lot, and I mean a lot, until I told him that I was pregnant, and then he sobered up for me. I went crazy, nights out, one night stands; until I found out I was pregnant. Jo was like a rock for me and dad, she's kept us together. I tried to find you, god I did, but it was always dead ends, nothing came up, you just disappeared. I came home one night, well early morning, after diving into your case, dad was looking after Jo, and she was supposed to be asleep. But I got home at around 3am to find her sat on my bed, tears streaming down her face, she'd waited up for me. She was 7, she shouldn't have seen me come home looking like a zombie because I'd spent all night drowning myself in your case files." Kate admits, the tears streaming down her face

"Katie, I'm so sorry, and I know no matter how many times I say it, it's not going to take away the hurt I caused. But at the time I thought it was for the best, I didn't have any other choice, it was either my life or yourself and your father, and I wasn't going to put you in danger over something I did." Her mother admits as she feels her arms wrap around her pulling her into a hug

"I know, and I understand, I do, but it hurt, and it's going to take some getting used to." Kate started, hugging her mother back before continuing, "The hugs are helping though"

"I've missed this too sweetie" She replies as they both remain in the others embrace, her hand coming to stroke through her daughters hair as the silent tears streamed down their faces "Your father and Rick will be getting worried"

"They're good, just a few more minutes please" Kate requests as she looks up at her mother

"No problem Katie, just let me know when you're ready to let them back into the living room, okay?" Her mother tells her

"Okay" Kate replied before falling silent once again, relaxing into her mother's embrace

"You can go back into the living room dad" Kate announces as she walks into the kitchen ten minutes later

"You okay?" Rick asks as he wraps his arms around her, his head resting on her shoulder

"Better. Talked it all out" She whispers back as he nuzzled his nose into her hair

"Good. You do realise you've been over an hour right?" Rick asked as he turned her around in his arms to face him, placing a gentle kiss to her forehead

"Really? Wow, I didn't even realise." Kate replied before looking up at him, his sky blue eyes shining back at her

"Yeah, your dad was getting a little worried that you might have done something drastic when it went quiet" Rick told her

"Just needed a minute for her to hold me" She admits before stepping up on her toes and pressing a soft kiss to his lips

"So you worked everything out?" Rick quizzed as she pressed her head into his chest, his arms wrapping around her

"I guess so. She understands that I'm still mad at her decision, but I can understand where she came from, I stayed away from you for three months because I thought you'd be safer and that's exactly what she did, on a larger scale." She finally admits as they stand in his kitchen

"If you feel like that again, will you just talk to me first?" Rick whispered against her head

"I will, but I don't think it's going to be necessary Rick, I can't stay away from you, no matter how hard I might try. Those three months were hell, but I thought it was better for you in the long run" Kate whispers against his chest, her hand clutching at his shirt

"I know, it's okay, we're okay, that's all that matters" Rick answered in response "I love you"

"I love you too" Kate replies before pulling back to crash her mouth to his once more

"You okay honey?" Jim asks as he enters the living room to find his wife curled up on the couch

"Yeah, I'm fine" Johanna replies, as stubborn as ever to admit how she's really feeling

"Honestly?" Jim pushes as he sits next to her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug

"I'm so sorry" Johanna cries "I hurt you both so much, I don't deserve to have you take me back so easily, after the pain I caused, I'd understand why you'd never want to see me again"

"Honey, look at me" Jim interrupts, cupping her cheek with his hand "I love you, Katie loves you and Johanna is going to love you, you did what you did to protect us and we didn't take it well, we know that and yes those memories are always going to be there, but you're here now. That's all that matters to me, and Katie will see that soon"

"I've missed you so much. I missed everything, they let me know the news related information on Katie, and they told me that you were both still alive, but that was all, nothing. If I'd have known how badly you both reacted I would have fought to get away"

"And you may not be here today if you had. Katie is going to be mad, you weren't there for her when she had Jo she cried a lot when she was pregnant, your disappearance was still quite fresh and she just kept saying that she wished you were there. I was no help, god I was a mess, and that's putting it nicely. I should have been there for her more I should have pushed myself to look at what I had rather than what I'd lost. But I couldn't do it, until the day she came home with the sonogram, where you could actually her little girl inside not just some bean shaped black and white image. I'm not saying this to upset you, but I just want you to understand why Katie is being like she is, she needs to be able to trust you again, she was hurt after, pushed people away, really showed her Johanna sides, she's never let anyone come close to her, to truly let herself be loved or to love, until Rick."

"I know. I can see it in her eyes that she loves him it's the same way my mum says I look at you. I just want to be in her life, I know I have to gain everything back and I think we made some progress, for the last ten minutes she just let me hold her, asked me to hold her. It made me so mad at myself, for not being able to do that when she was pregnant, not being able to just hold her through the break-ups she's had. It made me wish that I'd never left, that I'd just stayed, maybe we would have been fine, maybe they would have left us alone and I just took that option away from you both."

"It's better that you left mum." Kate answers as Rick and her enter the living room "It was the right thing to do, and even though we didn't take it well, it's better than you not being here at all, than you actually being dead like Jo thought"

"Why did you tell her that?" Johanna asks, shocked that she'd actually spoken the words

"Didn't think you were coming back, it had been six years since you'd disappeared before she asked about you, asked who the woman in the photos was, asked why she didn't have a grams like everyone else she knew." Kate answers back

"Katie!" Jim scolded

"Sorry, still getting used to it all" Kate replied after seeing the look on her parents face

"It's going to take some time for everyone to get used to it, honey" Rick told her as he sat beside her parents, his arm wrapped around her shoulder


	12. Chapter 12

**I apologise for the long wait. For one I thought that I had already posted this certain chapter so I've been concentrating on writing the next one. You should get two chapters within the next week at least. Been busy with Uni and some family stuff, but I do have two weeks off for Easter and I've spent all day procrastinating, writing fanfiction instead of my script. So I suppose updates will be frequent over the next two weeks. This goes for all my stories. Enjoy.**

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"_It's going to take some time for everyone to get used to it, honey." Rick told her as he sat beside her parents, his arm wrapped around her shoulder._

"Dad? Where home." Alexis shouted as Jo and herself entered the loft.

"Mum? You here?" Jo shouted after no reply from Rick.

"For the love of god, they can't be serious!" Alexis exclaimed as they stormed towards the kitchen.

"They wouldn't, Gramps and Grams are here." Jo told her.

"DAD!" Alexis shouted once again before setting her bag on the kitchen counter "Come on, we have to go in together."

"Do you really want to scare me so much?" Jo whined as they took a tentative step towards the living room

"Why should I be the only one?" Alexis replied before placing her hand on Jo's shoulder, pulling her towards her, "after three?"

"One." Jo started.

"Two."

"Three."

The duo rounded the corner, a hand over their eyes to shield them from the sight before them.

"Wow." Jo whispered, her mouth turning into a huge smile at the sight before her.

"Please tell me you have your camera here?" Alexis asked as she looked at the group before them.

"Give me two seconds." Jo replied before she turned on her heel and headed back into the kitchen for her camera, rushing back to Alexis' side to catch the moment before someone stirred.

"That is the cutest thing I've ever seen." Alexis stated once Jo had taken the photo of their parents snuggled together on the couch fast asleep, with Jim and Johanna snuggled up next to them, Kate's head resting on her mother's shoulder while her legs were draped across Rick's lap, their hands clasped together.

"Let's start dinner, Martha will be home soon" Jo stated before the duo turned to head into the kitchen once again.

"What we making?" Alexis quizzed once they reached the kitchen.

"Bolognaise?" Jo suggested "If you guys have the stuff in that is."

"Sounds like a plan, I'll just check."

Alexis scanned the cupboards, fridge and freezer gathering the ingredients they needed to make dinner for their family. The duo worked in silence for a while, each setting to work on their own task, before Jo broke the silence.

"Do you find this weird?"

"What do you mean?" Alexis replied, putting down the knife.

"It's just it's always been you, your dad and your Grams, like it's always been me, my mum and my Gramps, and now there's my Grams and we've all just been thrown together to make one big family. I just wanted to know whether you were actually okay with it all?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean, it's going to take some getting used to, but we've always been close" Alexis replied, moving to wrap an arm around Jo.

"I know, I just didn't know whether you felt okay with it all, we did tell them we weren't okay with it to start with" Jo replied.

"But we didn't mean it, it's going to be great, don't worry about anything. I know it's going to be strange having your Grams with you now. But we are a family – a rather dysfunctional one – but a family none the less and we are here for each other." Alexis finished.

"Thank you" Jo stated, turning to give Alexis a hug before pulling back to finish preparing dinner.

"Richard I'm home" The cheerful sound of Martha entering the loft, caused both Jo and Alexis to bolt out of the kitchen to quite the woman down before she woke the foursome currently asleep in the living room.

"Grams, shh, come here" Alexis whispered once she'd caught Martha's attention.

"Alexis dear, and Jo, how are you sweetie?" Martha asked the girl as she followed them back into the kitchen.

"I'm good thanks Martha." Jo replied as she returned her attention to the task at hand.

"Why are you girls making dinner? Where Kate and Richard?" Martha asked confused.

"If you're really quite Grams, you can go into the living room and find out for yourself" Alexis told her.

"Ooh, now I have to see what's all that whispering is about" Martha replied, before tiptoeing into the living room.

"You nearly done Lex?" Jo quizzed as she finished browning the mince in the pan.

"Almost." Alexis replied as she continued to cut the onions.

"Ooh, isn't that sweet." Martha gushed as she entered the kitchen once more, heading for the cupboard to pull out a wine glass.

"They've been like that since before we got back an hour ago. We put our things away, got changed and made a start on dinner. They looked too cute to wake them up." Jo replied quickly, lucky that she'd got a change of clothes at the loft.

"Well darlings I will set the table while you finish the meal, then I will be the one to go wake them up." Martha told the duo as she began pulling things out of the cupboards and draws.

"Thanks" replied Jo and Alexis

"Right, wish me luck" Martha whispered before she entered the living room ten minutes later.

She cautiously walked towards the foursome on the sofa, not knowing how to wake them up, she stood behind her son. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder, giving him a light squeeze to try and stir him.

"Richard, darling, wake up" Martha murmured to her son.

She chuckled lightly to herself as she watched him jump in his sleep, but quickly stepped back as she saw that his movement had disturbed Kate.

"What's going on?" Kate voiced as she jumped awake, her mind suddenly thinking the worst.

"I'm sorry dear, but the girls have made dinner, and I drew the short straw to wake you all up" Martha replied, her arms flying out dramatically ask she gesture to the other occupants of the couch.

"I'll take care of it, thanks" Kate told her as she watched Martha walk back into the kitchen, before placing gentle kisses on Rick's neck as she tried to wake up, muttering between the kisses "Rick, wake up, come on, the girls made dinner."

"Mm, got back to sleep babe" Rick replied as his arm shot out to pull her tightly against him.

"Rick, my parents are next to us and the girls cooked, wake up before I twist your ear" Kate replied as she pulled out of his grasp and stood from the couch, "Dad, Mum, wake up, Jo and Alexis made dinner."

She watched as the three remaining couch occupants slowly woke, Rick being the first to join her, wrapping his arm around her waist as he pulled her towards the kitchen while her parents woke. She turned around to ensure they were indeed waking up, they had a tendency to go back to sleep if they only had one alarm, only to see her mother snuggle further into her father's embrace as he placed a kissed to her hair before tilting her head to capture her lips, before standing and offering his hand to her. She used to cringe at the thought of her parents doing anything remotely sexual, but all she could feel was love as she watched the smile spread across her father's as he helped her mother stand from the couch. She quickly turned and continued to the kitchen, not wanting them to know she was watching them in their private moment.

"Hey honey" Kate spoke to Jo as she entered the kitchen.

"Hi mom, have a nice sleep?" Jo smirked as she looked up at her mother who was now standing beside her.

"Careful young lady" Kate replied as she gently jabbed Jo's shoulder.

"Finally awake are we?" Alexis quipped as her dad stood beside her.

"Yes, is the food ready yet?" Rick asked.

"Yes, go take a seat, make sure Jim and Johanna are awake." Alexis told her father.

"Yes pumpkin" Rick replied as he glanced towards Kate and Jo, catching the smirk on Kate's face at been told what to do by his daughter.

"Jim? Foods ready" Rick shouted into the living room.

"We're coming" Jim replied as he entered the kitchen with Johanna.

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**Hope you like this chapter, any spellings, grammar or other mistakes are all my own, still need to find a better. Don't pick up on things when I check it myself. Review if you wish, they always push me to write more.**

**Amy.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm so sorry, I know I said I would upload within a week, but things have been really hectic. But I have finally finished Uni until around October, so I'm hoping to finish this story before then. Will hopefully have more frequent updates.**

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"_We're coming" Jim replied as he entered the kitchen with Johanna._

Unlike the night before, conversation throughout dinner seemed to flow easily. Kate kept her hand clasped in Rick's under the table throughout dinner, still needing the reassurance that everything was okay. By the end of dinner everyone was too exhausted to talk that they decided to have another movie night.

"You guys go pick a film while Kate and I clean the dishes." Rick told the group as he watched them exit the kitchen. He cleared the table before turning to see Kate stood cleaning the dishes at his sink. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good" Kate replied, her attention so focused on the dishes that she didn't notice Rick sneak up behind her until she felt his arms wrap around her middle, and his head burrow into her hair.

"Are you sure?" Rick quizzed as he pressed a soft kiss to her neck.

"My dad's happy. Jo gets to meet her grandmother. I have my mom back, plus an amazing boyfriend and his family. Why wouldn't I be okay?" Kate shot back as she turned around in his arms, quickly drying her hands on the towel beside her.

"You're just quiet. But thank you for the amazing boyfriend part." Rick replied.

"I guess I'm still in shock. We'll be okay." Kate whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leant forward to place a soft kiss against his lips.

"We will." Rick whispered against her lips before pressing his against hers once again as he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him. "We better get in there, they will start swapping stories soon and I don't like the idea of that"

"I agree." Kate smiled before grabbing his hand and pulling him into the living room.

"So what are we watching tonight? Another set of British Comedies?" Rick asked the group as he sat down on the sofa, pulling Kate down with him.

"Well we didn't get to finish them all last night, so we are picking up where we left off." Jo stated as she pressed play on the remote.

By the end of the second film both girls were curled up against each other in the armchair, fast asleep. Rick glanced down at Kate, noticing her staring at the duo, before quickly pressing a kiss to her hair and pulling her closer to his chest. The movement caused Kate to shift her gaze to him as a smile spread across her face at the goofy smile now evident on Rick's face. Kate moved out of his grasp to head towards the kitchen, before turning to pull Rick from the couch with her.

"They're all asleep" Rick commented once they were in the kitchen out of the way.

"I know, my parents have been out like a light since the middle of the first film, Martha left around that time for bed." Kate replied.

"They need to get into a bed" Rick told her.

"Yeah, let me get my parents up and out of the way then we will sort the girls." Kate replied, placing a kiss to his cheek before heading back into the living room.

"Mom, Dad, wake up, you need to get to bed" Kate whispered to her parents as she tried to stir them awake.

"Katie?" Jo whispered as she opened her eyes.

"Your backs are going to kill if you stay here, we're heading to bed" Kate whispered again as she watched her mother jostle her father awake.

"Back to sleep Jo" Jim muttered as Jo laughed.

"Come on, we're going to bed" Jo replied through her quiet laughter.

"Oh, we fell asleep" Jim whispered as he stood from chair and followed Jo out of the living room and up the stairs.

"Now the girls, I don't want to wake them" Rick told Kate while walking towards the sleeping duo.

"Me either. I can carry Jo, if you've got Alexis?" Kate told him.

"Yeah, it's been a while but yeah" Rick replied.

"If you can carry me, Alexis should be no problem" Kate smirked.

"I have a lot of adrenaline when I carry you" Rick replied.

"Let's get these two to bed first" Kate whispered before scooping Jo up in her arms.

"Mum?" Jo whispered.

"Go back to sleep sweetie." Kate whispered back as she headed towards the stairs.

"I got to meet Grams yesterday." Jo quietly replied, her voice laced with excitement.

"You did sweetie, and we've got the weekend off so you can spend all the time you want with her" Kate told her as she reached the bedroom door.

"I like Grams" Jo replied.

"She is pretty great." Kate told her as she gently laid her on the bed "Now get back to sleep."

"Love you mum" Jo muttered as she snuggled into her pillow.

"Love you too sweetie" Kate replied before turning to see Rick entering the bedroom with Alexis in his arms.

Rick walked towards the bed and placed Alexis next to Jo, the duo instantly asleep as their parents pulled the covers over them. Kate turned to exit the room knowing Rick was behind her, before heading down the stairs to bed. She headed straight for the bathroom, collecting her nightwear on the way, a small smile spreading across her face. She quickly stripped out of her clothing and into her outfit, she knew Rick would love this, and she'd been dying to wear it for him.

"Kate. Are you in here?" Rick called from the bedroom.

"I'll be out in a second, just get comfy" Kate replied, a slightly teasing tone to her voice.

She stood in front of the mirror as she checked out her outfit and make-up. She knew he loved her without all the cosmetics and tonight was the perfect night. The black baby doll dress hugged her curves before flowing out around her hips, the lace material scratched at her bare skin as she headed towards the door. She loved the feel of lace against her skin, especially with the added promise that Rick's hands were going to be there any minute. She grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open, to see that Rick had turned off the bedroom lights and lit candles to create a soft glow before climbing into bed.

"Are you expecting to get something tonight Writer-boy?" Kate asked huskily as she walked towards the bed only to find Rick curled around her pillow fast asleep.

She headed round to her side of the bed, blowing out the candles as she went, before climbing in to bed beside Rick. She lay facing him as she stroked her hand across his face, ruffling his hair, before cupping his chin and leaning in to brush her lips against his. She wasn't expecting him to respond, thinking he was asleep, but she almost screamed in delight when she felt his hand wrap around her body and pull her towards him. His hands running along her sides and under the baby doll.

"I think it was you who thought they were getting lucky tonight honey" Rick whispered in her ear as he ran his hand up her side to cup her breast.

"What can I say, I need you" Kate replied before pushing on his chest and swinging her leg over his body to straddle him. "And it appears you need me"

"I always need you" Rick breathed against her lips as he pulled her down towards him, his hands running under the back of the baby doll and up her back keeping her close to him.

Kate closed the gap between them, her mouth closing over his as her hands ran through his hair. She lost herself in the moment as his hands ran along the expanse of her back before he rolled them over and pressed her into the mattress, pulling a quiet moan from her lips as he moved to press his lips along her neck.

"You're naked?" Kate breathed between gasps

"Of course, and you're naked underneath this scrap of material you call nightwear" Rick spoke between kissing his way down her body, while his hands worked on pushing the material up her body.

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**I know not much happens in this one, but there it is. Hope you liked it.**

**Amy**


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